Bring out the alcohol: Fraser and Neave's profits climb 25% as beer sales surge

Beer earnings climbed 74%.

It’s time for a toast for Fraser and Neave’s stockholders. The food manufacturer is riding an alcoholic high as it posted a 25% year on year profit increase for 3Q14, driven by a surge in beer sales.

According to a report by CIMB, Myanmar Beer posted a 37% growth for the period, as earnings climbed by 74% and sales rose by 41%.

When blended in with soft drinks, the entire beverage segment saw 28% EBIT yoy growth and yoy sales
growth of 8.2%.

However, CIMB remains concerned over the arbitration situation with the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, which remains a key for F&N’s operations.

“Barring the arbitration event, we believe that the beer business will continue to drive growth. Other catalysts could be 1) synergistic value in distribution with Serm Suk and ThaiBev playing out and 2) corporate restructuring to consolidate the non-alcoholic names under F&N,” noted the report.