KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad today reported a net profit of RM162.2 million on the back of RM1.8 billion in revenue for its financial year ending December 31, 2020.
In a statement to the press, the group attributed the lower revenue and profit in part to the seven-work closure of its brewery here as well as reduced demand due to the movement control order in Malaysia and Singapore’s so-called “circuit breaker”.
“In addition, the group also recognised a one-off RM6.4 million settlement with the Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC) in June 2020 and a RM9.9 million restructuring costs in 4QFY20. Excluding both of these, organic net profit would have been RM174.6 million, a decline of 40 per cent,” the group said.
The group said that they recorded the highest revenue of 8.5 per cent to RM472.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, versus the third quarter.
“The group’s slow but promising recovery continued as the Malaysia and Singapore operations registered higher sales in the on-trade sector when dine-in business was allowed last quarter,” they said.
Carlsberg managing director Stefano Clini said that during the last quarter, the group’s top priority was the health and wellbeing of its employees, while also ensuring the health of the business.
He added that the group is also taking a cautious view over the outlook of the current year due to the preserving effects of Covid-19 and the possible government regulations and measures that will likely cause on-trade sales and consumer sentiment to remain down.
“We are however hopeful that the national Covid vaccination plans that are expected to start in Malaysia from end February and have already started in Singapore will curtail Covid infections and lead to better economic recovery in the second half of 2021,” Clini said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact our business performance, which has led to a challenging start to 2021. The uncertainties related to the extent and length of the pandemic, further government actions, consumers sentiment and macroeconomic developments remain high. We are confident that our ongoing corporate strategy — SAIL’22 — will guide us forward amid the pandemic and enable the Group to deliver on our long-term shareholder value,” Clini concluded.
