F&N's profit up 47.5% to $37.9m in Q1

Higher dairy and softdrinks sales from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand boosted earnings.

Beverage company Fraser & Neave (F&N) saw its profits surge 47.5% YoY to $37.9m from $25.7m in Q1 FY19.

Revenues also rose to $464.4m from $462.5m whilst post-tax profits grew to $55.9m as the firm saw higher sales from dairy and soft drinks sales in its Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand markets.

Dairies’ earning soared 43% YoY to $72m from $50.2m, driven by higher profit contribution from its associate company Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk).

Also read: Fraser & Neave Q3 profits dropped 12.4% to $50.3m

F&N’s profit before interest and taxation (PBIT) increased 42% to $71m but was partly weighed down by weaker Beverages performance which was hit by pre-operating costs in relation to the ongoing construction of the greenfield brewery in Myanmar along with higher packaging and manufacturing costs.

Furthermore, the the PBIT of the company's publishing and printing business segment declined from $1.7m to $0.4m due to the $1.1m one-off gain from the sale of machinery.