Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad reported a marginally higher revenue by 1% at RM660.2 million with net profit lower by 7.1% to RM85 million for the first quarter ended 31 March 2023 (Q1FY23) versus the same quarter last year.
The brewer said the lower performance was attributable to the earlier timing and shorter sales period for the Chinese New Year celebrations that are within this financial year, in addition, earnings were impacted by higher input costs and marketing expenses. The Group’s earnings per share (EPS) for Q1FY23 were 27.81 sen, compared to 29.96 sen in Q1FY22.
The Board has announced a first interim dividend of 21 sen per share. Commenting on the Q1 performance, Managing Director Stefano Clini explained: “Our quarter one results were impacted by the timing of CNY, with a shorter sales period within the quarter and lower consumer consumption due to increasing concerns on the elevated cost of living amid sluggish economic growth forecasts in Malaysia and Singapore. “We also observed a shift in consumer spending from domestic consumption to international travel as the latter has become more accessible and beer consumption has normalised after the surge of economic activity experienced after the reopening in 2022,” he added.
Additionally, it said the Group’s Sri Lankan-based associate company Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC saw a lower share of profit in Q1FY23 mainly due to the sharp devaluation in the Sri Lankan Rupee against the Malaysian ringgit since March 2022 due to the economic crisis in that country.
