KUALA LUMPUR: Nestle (M) Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended September 30 grew 9.87 per cent to RM150.08 million, fuelled by lower operating expenses.
It posted RM136.59 million net profit in the same quarter last
year.
The improved profit was also attributed to a margin improvement of 170 basis points, Nestle said in a statement yesterday.
Its earnings per share improved to 64 sen from 58.35 sen a year earlier. However, group revenue dropped 4.2 per cent to RM1.16 billion from RM1.21 billion last year.
The food and beverage conglomerate said the lower revenue was mainly contributed by lower exports to affiliated companies.
“The increasingly challenging global economic environment,
as well as a softening demand for some export categories, have impacted the turnover.”
Nestle said the situation was further compounded by the fact that the Philippines and Indonesia have invested in their local manufacturing facilities for products previously imported from Malaysia.
For the nine months, the company’s net profit dropped marginally to RM452.08 million from RM461.25 million a year ago.
However, revenue rose 1.4 per cent year-on-year to RM3.7 billion from RM3.65 billion previously.