PETALING JAYA: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) is maintaining a cautious stance for 2022, especially in light of the lingering economic uncertainties that have been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

       Chief executive officer Lim Yew Hoe (pic) said the group does not expect the market to return to pre-pandemic conditions anytime soon and anticipates commodity prices to remain inflated, moving forward.

       “We are prepared to ride on the encouraging return of economic activities in Malaysia and Thailand to drive sales, particularly for our beverages, ready-to-drink dairy business and out-of-home channels.

       “We will continue to offer products that meet consumers’ evolving needs and refine our pricing to cushion our businesses against cost pressures,” he said in F&N’s recently released annual report.

       These actions, coupled with the restructuring exercise just completed in the last financial year, said Lim, will help put the company in good stead against imminent risks, while keeping F&N on track to drive future growth.

       “Exports will continue to be a key focus for both Malaysia and Thailand. Having achieved strong growth in a full pandemic year, we look forward to an even better performance in 2022 when the global landscape stabilises.

       FN building

       “We will not shy away from investing in capabilities to tap into new opportunities, be it for our own branded exports or those of key original equipment manufacturing customers.”

       As Malaysia enters the recovery phase of the pandemic, Lim said a key priority was to assist the group’s trade partners to recover as quickly as possible to benefit from the easing of economic activities.

       “We especially look forward to rolling out Reimagine 2.0 initiatives, which build on our PASSION 2025 roadmap, focusing on three domains,” he said.

       Lim revealed that the three domains were first, building new capabilities to enhance the group’s business through better products and route-to-market, as well as by partnering with stakeholders to grow sustainably; and second, strengthening the company’s leadership in core markets via increased focus on its supply chain, process innovation and digitalisation, as well as portfolio management.

       Finally, the third domain is unlocking its potential to enhance shareholder value through strategic partnerships, improving the value of its assets, and developing a world-class workforce.

       FN products

       “In 2022, the group targets to achieve further operational and cost efficiencies, and carbon footprint reduction with the completion of several capex investment projects,” he added.

       F&N posted a lower net profit of RM395.16mil for its financial year ended Sept 30, 2021, compared with RM410.38mil in the previous corresponding period.

       The company attributed the lower earnings to higher commodity prices, reduced export margins, company restructuring and Covid-19-related expenses as well as a lower share of profit from an associate.

       Revenue, however, increased to RM4.13bil in 2021 against RM3.99bil previously, driven by the strong export performance of its food and beverage business in Malaysia and Thailand, as well as nine months of contribution from its food business.

       The group had recommended a final single-tier dividend of 33 sen per share despite the challenging operating environment.