From left: Heineken Malaysia finance director Karsten Folkerts, corporate affairs & legal director Renuka Indrarajah and managing director Martijn Rene van Keulen.
PETALING JAYA: Heineken Malaysia Bhd
, which saw year-on-year growth in its bottomline in the first half of 2024 (1H24), may see better margins in 2H24 following a tapering off of raw material prices.
Its finance director Karsten Folkerts confirmed that the volatility of raw material prices owing to the lockdowns has decreased.
“The huge fluctuations we saw during the lockdown period are coming down,” he said during an analyst and media briefing in conjunction with the group's 2024 second quarter financial results.
For the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2Q24), Heineken Malaysia's revenue slipped marginally by 0.66% to RM565.5mil from RM569.24mil in 2Q23.
Heineken said this decrease was due to consumer sentiments being influenced by the rising cost of living and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.
Folkerts acknowledged a slight decrease in 2Q24 revenues compared to 1Q24, attributing part of this to the price increases implemented in April.
However, the company's revenue for 1H24 rose by 3.45% to RM1.35bil compared to RM1.31bil in the same period last year, owing to effective implementation of strategic commercial initiatives such as the Chinese New Year campaign in 1Q24.
Net profit for 2Q24, meanwhile, rose by 0.72% to RM91.13mil from RM90.47mil in the previous corresponding quarter, thanks to effective cost and value management.
For 1H24, net profit increased by 6.59% to RM213.61mil, up from RM200.4mil in 1H23, driven by higher revenue and effective cost management.
Heineken Malaysia has declared a dividend of 40 sen per share for 2Q24, which is also the total dividend for 1H24, matching the dividend declared in 2Q23.
