PETALING JAYA: Innature Bhd’s net profit rose marginally to RM7.76mil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (Q4’21) from RM7.71mil a year ago.

       The retailer of cosmetics and personal care products recorded a 2.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in Q4’21 revenue to RM43.68mil from RM44.84mil as a result of the muted contribution from its overseas businesses.

       “While Malaysia saw improving revenue by 2.4% amid the economy reopening and year-end festivities, Vietnam remained impacted by Covid-19, with the country’s daily number of confirmed cases at the end of the reporting quarter continuing to swiftly trend upwards,” group managing director Datin Mina Cheah-Foong said in a statement.

       For the full financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), the group’s net profit declined 25.5% to RM15.02mil against RM20.18mil previously. Revenue fell 15.1% y-o-y to RM131.9mil, with businesses in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia each recording lesser revenue by 14.8%, 17.7% and 2.2%, respectively.

       The group’s remote selling channels mitigated the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown in FY21 with revenue contribution increasing by 2.6 times to 28.6%.

       InNature has declared a final dividend of 1.5 sen per ordinary share for FY21. The entitlement date is on March 17 and payable on March 31, 2022.

       Including the interim dividend of 0.5 sen per ordinary share paid on June 15, 2021, total dividend declared for FY21 would be RM14.1mil, representing 94% of the group’s profit after tax. Commenting on its outlook, Cheah-Foong said, “We expect an improving y-o-y performance in FY22.”