Carlsberg posts 20% Q1 earnings jump, declares 20 sen dividend

Carlsberg Group headquarters In Copenhagen.

KUALA LUMPUR: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd's Q1 earnings jumped 20% to RM80.82mil from RM67.39mil in the year-ago quarter, underpinned by improved profit contributions from its domestic operations and associate company.

"The strong result was driven by better sales during the Chinese New Year festive period, continued growth of premium brands and higher profits from associate company Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC (LBCP)," it said in a press statement.

Revenue for the quarter under review came to RM548.47mil, a 5.5% improvement over year-ago quarter. 

According to Carlsberg,it adopted the MFRS 15 reporting standard as at Jan 1, 2018, without restating its prior results. Had it applied the same standard for the first quarter of 2017, the group's revenue would have grown 11.7% on a like-to-like basis.

The group said its Malaysian operations saw revenue grow 20.8% year-on-year on an MFRS 15 restated basis to RM405.8mil while profit from operations grew 19.6% to RM82.5mil.

"The domestic operations continued its growth momentum, which was mainly contributed by the timing of Chinese New Year in 2018 as well as trade loading in March prior to the price adjustment on 1st April 2018," it said.

However, revenue from its Singapore operations dropped 8% on an MFRS 15 restated basis to RM142.7mil while profit from operations declined 32.2% to RM17.8mil due to lower sales and the appreciation of the ringgit against the Singapore dollar.

Carslberg's associate company, LBCP, contributed profit of RM5.6mil compared to a loss of RM5.9mil in the previous corresponding quarter on the back of improved operational performance, higher sales and a final insurance settlement related to floods at its factory in 2016.

The group has declared a first interim dividend of 20 sen per share with entitlement and payment dates on June 20 and July 3 respectively.