PETALING JAYA: Farm Fresh Bhd, one of Malaysia’s leading dairy producers, today debuted on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd (Bursa Securities) at RM1.70.
At the closing bell, Farm Fresh ended its first trading day at RM1.72, up 37 sen, on 330.41 million shares traded. Earlier, Farm Fresh opened at RM1.70 per share, which is a premium of 35 sen or 26% from the listing reference price of RM1.35. This is the largest listing on Bursa Securities since June 2021 given its market capitalisation of RM2.5 billion.
Farm Fresh, through the public issue portion of its initial public offering (IPO), raised a total of RM301 million, of which RM140 million is intended for establishing a new manufacturing hub, a new dairy farm, and an integrated facility in Malaysia. RM60 million has also been earmarked for the expansion of its production facility in Australia, RM40 million for regional expansion outside Malaysia, RM40.8 million for working capital while RM20.2 million has been allocated for listing related expenses.
Farm Fresh group managing director and group CEO Loi Tuan Ee said the world saw the rise in raw material prices and the company’s competitors had increased prices for milk products three times in the past two years.
“We always try our best not to pass the cost pressure to the consumers. Last September, we adjusted the selling price to mitigate the increase in raw material prices.
“We have not increased our price in the past four years and it is a decision we deliberately do so because we want to make fresh milk affordable and reach out to the masses,“ he told reporters at the virtual listing ceremony today.
Loi said for the financial year 2023, Farm Fresh will launch several new products such as the Grow Up Milk intended for children in June. Next month will launch barista oat milk and fresh milk. And plant-based milk is expected to bring a higher margin.
“With the support and participation of our stakeholders, we intend to venture into new regions and markets to extend our presence. With the growing consumer demand for fresh milk products, I am confident Farm Fresh can deliver quality products and value to consumers,” Loi said.
Farm Fresh chief financial officer Mohd Khairul Mat Hassan the company would focused on regional expansion in Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
“Once we have our Taiping plant up and running, we can free up capacity at the Larkin plant to cater further to the Singapore market. We plan to enter the Hong Kong market by end of this year by setting up a company.
“One and a half years ago, we started to apply for the halal certification in Indonesia. Also, we have obtained FDA approval for four products and hope can export to Indonesia soon,“ Khairul said, adding Farm Fresh would roll out plenty of projects this year.
