Fraser & Neave“s net profit jumped 28% for the year ended 30 September 2007, thanks to strong growth in its property and food and beverage divisions.
Net income before exceptional items was USD 377….
Fraser & Neave“s net profit jumped 28% for the year ended 30 September 2007, thanks to strong growth in its property and food and beverage divisions. Net income before exceptional items was USD 377.9 million for fiscal 2007 versus USD 295.4 million in fiscal 2006, while revenue was USD 4.74 billion, 25% higher than the previous year“s USD 3.8 billion. For the three months ended 30 September 2007, net profit was USD 99.9 million, up 6.2% from the same period 2006, while sales were up 14% to USD 1.25 billion. F&N“s businesses include property, soft drinks, breweries, dairies, glass containers, printing and publishing. In a statement on 13 November 2007, F&N chairman Lee Hsien Yang said the group“s “record levels of growth and profits” were the result of its “relentless pursuit of regional expansion and investment in multi-core businesses, which have delivered sustainable long-term growth”. Mr Lee did not appear at the earnings briefing; F&N executive director Anthony Cheong said: “Hsien Yang is very focused, and a hard worker”. On the corporate governance issue surrounding Mr Lee“s post as both non-executive chairman and consultant of F&N, Mr Cheong said that “it is not a bad thing provided there are sufficient internal checks and controls to ensure that there isn“t a concentration of power”. Brewery sales for the year were up 19%, while soft drinks sales rose 10%. F&N brews and sells beer across Asia, including in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. F&N directors have recommended a final dividend of SGD 0.085 a share. Together with the interim dividend of SGD 0.05, it brings the total for the year to SGD 0.135, up 12.5% on the previous year. If approved, the dividend will be paid on 26 February 2008. The company reiterated it had no plans to spin off its “core businesses” such as its real estate unit, Mr Cheong said. It will also continue to search for a new chief executive officer, he added, denying an earlier report in The Business Times that F&N was planning to split the company into three and had stopped searching for a replacement for former CEO Han Cheng Fong.
