Heineken Malaysia Q3 earnings up 19.7%

PETALING JAYA: Heineken Malaysia Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 increased 19.7% to RM78.87 million from RM65.87 million a year ago, mainly due to over provision of prior year taxation and deferred taxation recognised in the current quarter.

Revenue grew 3.3% to RM512.01 million compared to RM495.49 million in the same quarter in 2017 underpinned by an increase in sales volume prior to the implementation of sales and service tax (SST) 2018.

For the cumulative nine months period, its net profit jumped 3.5% to RM182.52 million compared with RM176.42 million in the previous year, while revenue increased 6.5% to RM1.37 billion compared to RM1.28 billion in the same period in 2017.

Commenting on the results, Heineken Malaysia managing director Roland Bala said its performance in the third quarter of 2018 reflects improved consumer sentiment in the market.

“The reintroduction of SST and subsequent price adjustment resulted in higher sales volume ahead of Sept 17. In the nine-month period, we steadily improved our performance through effective execution of commercial strategies, supported by a sharper focus on cost management initiatives within the group,” he said in a statement.

On outlook, Heineken Malaysia expects the business environment to remain challenging given the intense competition, the implementation of SST on Sept 1 and the continued presence of contraband beer in the market.

“We commend the extensive efforts of the government and its agencies, in particular the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, for stepping up enforcement against contraband alcohol and illicit trade, which represent a significant loss of revenue to both government and industry. We urge no increase in excise duties on beer to ensure the price gap between duty-paid products and contraband is not widened further,” said Roland.

Leveraging on its portfolio of iconic brands, the group will continue to strengthen its commercial strategies and execution to drive performance with a focus on improving operational efficiencies across the business to achieve a commendable performance for the financial year 2018.

Source: TheSunDaily