Food Empire F03 has reported earnings of US$33.0 million ($44.6 million) for the 2HFY2022 ended Dec 31, 2022, 4.2 times higher than the earnings of US$8.0 million.
This brings FY2022 earnings to US$60.1 million, slightly over three times higher than FY2021’s earnings of US$19.5 million.
The surge in earnings for the 2HFY2022 and FY2022 is mainly due to the higher revenue and better operating profit, as well as the one-off gain of US$15.0 million from the disposal of the group’s non-core asset.
Excluding the one-off gain, the group’s earnings for the FY2022 surged by 133.7% y-o-y to US$45.1 million from US$19.3 million previously.
Revenue for the FY2022 increased by 24.5% y-o-y to a record high of US$398.4 million. This is as the group’s revenue across all segments – except Southeast Asia – saw y-o-y increases. The growth in revenue was mainly contributed by the group’s Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and South Asia segments.
Gross profit increased by 26.9% y-o-y to US$118.8 million.
See also: Trump wins Republican nomination, setting up rematch with Biden
Results from operating activities surged by 107.4% y-o-y to US$52.7 million.
Net other income surged over 22 times to US$16.6 million from US$738,000 in the FY2021.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the 2HFY2022 and FY2022 stood at 6.18 US cents and 11.26 US cents respectively.
As at Dec 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents stood at US$125.6 million.
The group has declared a first and final dividend of 4.4 cents, up from the total dividend of 2.2 cents per share for the FY2021.
In its outlook statement, the group notes that though it has experienced high levels of growth in the Russian, Kazakhstan and CIS markets, there may be some margin pressure moving ahead due to the volatility in the foreign exchange (forex) rates and economic situation.
In Southeast Asia, the group’s Vietnam segment is expected to see revenue growth in the FY2023 as it continues to experience high levels of demand for its non-dairy creamer, instant coffee mixes and potato chips during the year. The group adds that it will continue to grow it potato chips segment and maximise production output in the country.
The expansion of its non-dairy creamer facility is ongoing and the new capacity is expected to begin commercial production in 4QFY2023, says the group.
In India, where the group’s spray dry and new freeze dry coffee plants have continued to operate at full capacity, the group says it expects better performance for the segment on the back of cost reductions due to the normalisation of freight costs.
Shares in Food Empire closed 0.5 cent higher or 0.63% up at 80.5 cents on Feb 27.
