PETALING JAYA: Nestle (M) Bhd
is anticipating a return to healthy growth levels this year, driven by a broad product portfolio, strong brand equities and extensive sales and distribution network.
The group said it will continue to strengthen its manufacturing infrastructure, reinforcing the company’s role as the largest halal manufacturing and export hub for the Nestle group worldwide, while contributing to the nation’s food security and the well-being of Malaysians.
Releasing its results for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (FY24) yesterday, the group posted a yearly net profit of RM415.6mil, driven by a revenue of RM6.22bil. It represented a 37% and 11.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in net earnings and turnover respectively.
Meanwhile, for the fourth quarter of 2024 (4Q24), the group saw net profit falling 72.3% to RM41.1mil as revenue slowed 12.6% to RM1.47bil.
Commenting on its 4Q24 results, Nestle Malaysia said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that the reduction in revenue and profitability was primarily attributed to a contraction in domestic sales, which was impacted by consumer hesitancy and consumer confidence.
It added: “It is worth noting that the export business demonstrated resilience, registered a growth of 6.9%, indicating a positive performance despite challenging market conditions.”
Nestle Malaysia mentioned that the challenging consumer landscape marked by consumer hesitancy as well as by constraints in purchasing power in FY24 also affected results for the year, although export sales showed resilience with a growth of 4.9%.
It said this confirms the competitiveness of the group in the international market, benefitting amongst other factors, from being the largest halal manufacturing and export hub for the Nestle group globally.
Compared with 3Q24, Nestle Malaysia registered a marginally higher turnover from RM1.45bil, although net profit slipped from RM85.4mil mainly due to higher input costs. Nestle declared a dividend of 79 sen for 4Q24, which brought its total dividends for FY24 to 179 sen per share.
