SINGAPORE (Aug 3): Dairy Farm International, a member of the Jardine Group, announced a 7% increase in 1H17 earnings to US$213 million ($354.2 million) from US$199 million in 1H16 on higher total sales.
In the half year ended June, group sales declined 1% to US$5.5 billion from US$5.6 billion.
However, sales from associates and joint ventures rose to US$4.9 billion from US$4.5 billion.
Dairy Farm says declines within supermarkets and hypermarkets in the Food Division were offset by good sales growth in all other divisions
In the Food Division, sales within supermarkets and hypermarkets declined by 3% to US$7.9 billion from US$7.6 billion at constant exchange rates while profits declined due to continuing softness in certain key markets, especially in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Sales from the Health and Beauty Division rose 2.4% to US$1.32 billion from US$1.29 billion, thanks to the Hong Kong, Macau and Indonesian markets.
Home Furnishings Division saw a 7.6% increase in sales to US$303.6 million from US$282.2 million due to positive performance from IKEA, as Taiwan and Indonesia reported strong sales.
The group’s Restaurant Division also rose 7.7% to US$974.1 million from US$904.4 million, thanks to its chain of Maxim restaurants which continued to expand in presence.
There are now over one thousand Maxim outlets across Greater China and Southeast Asia.
The outlook for the year is expected to remain challenging for the Food Division, especially the supermarket and hypermarket activities in Southeast Asia.
The board is recommending an interim dividend of 6.5 US cents per share.
Shares in Dairy Farm closed 16 US cents higher at US$8.06 on Thursday.
