BFood posts higher Q2 profit, recommends dividend

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Food Berhad (BFood) registered a higher pre-tax profit of RM9.51 million for the second quarter ended Oct 31, 2017, mainly due to better profits from Starbucks’ operation in Malaysia and lower losses incurred by the Kenny Rogers Roasters (KRR) operation in Indonesia from further closure of non-performing outlets.
The group made a pre-tax profit of RM7.56 million in the corresponding quarter in 2016.
This was achieved on higher revenue of RM160.78 million for the quarter compared with RM149.11 million in the corresponding quarter in 2016, mainly due to additional Starbucks cafes operating in the current quarter.
The board has recommended a second interim dividend of 1.0 sen single-tier dividend per share (second quarter ended Oct 31, 2016 : 1.0 sen single-tier dividend per share) in respect of the financial year ending April 30, 2018 to be payable on Jan 26, 2018. The entitlement date has been fixed on Jan 12, 2018. The total dividend declared for the six month financial period ended Oct 31, 2017 amounted to 2.0 sen single-tier dividend per share (for the six month ended Oct 31, 2016: 1.50 sen single-tier dividend per share).
The group said its results in the next quarter is expected to be adversely impacted by the one-off losses arising from the disposal of the KRR operations in Indonesia.
"Other than this one-off exceptional loss, the group expects Starbucks to maintain its revenue growth momentum to continue contributing positively to the group. In addition, the management hopes that the operational and menu rationalisation of KRR, being implemented recently, will yield better results for the brand moving forward", it said.
The group made a pre-tax profit of RM18.27 million for the six month period ended Oct 31, 2017, compared with RM15.01 million for the same period in 2016. Revenue for the period was up to RM315.17 million, compared with RM290.48 million for the six month period in 2016.