BERN: Nestle (M) Bhd has registered improved net profit and revenue in the second quarter ended June, contributed by favourable domestic and export businesses and lower effective tax rate. Its net profit in the second quarter increased 52.4 per cent to RM188.79 million from RM123.9 million in the same quarter last year, while revenue increased 8.2 per cent to RM1.24 billion from RM1.14 billion.
“In the domestic business, the strong results were propelled by strong marketing activities and new product launches, which saw the group continue to strengthen its market share position in its key product categories. “Key contributors were the higher turnover, favourable price trends for raw materials and improved efficiency in factories and the whole supply chain.
“The net profit increase was due to a lower effective tax rate,” said Nestle managing director Alois Hofbauer in a statement yesterday. For the six-month period, Nestle registered a 31.3 per cent increase in net profit due to a lower effective tax rate. Revenue in the same period increased 5.4 per cent to RM2.55 billion from RM2.42 billion. Hofbauer said the results demonstrated the group’s resilient foundation that enabled Nestle to deliver consistent growth, even during challenging times.
“A key driver for this improved performance was higher domestic sales, which was mainly attributable to successful new product launches and consumer promotions. We also continue to see progress in our export business, which recorded double-digit growth.” He said favourable price trends for raw materials as well as ongoing efficiency programmes also contributed to the group’s positive profit development. The board declared a net interim dividend of 70 sen per share for the financial year ending December 2016.
