PETALING JAYA: Heineken Malaysia Bhd’s investment levels for financial year 2023 (FY23) will come down following the heightened RM200 million capital expenditure (capex) in 2022.
CFO Karsten Folkerts said it spent RM200 million in FY22 capex, a significant step-up from FY21, on the expansion and upgrade of its brewery, which started in 2019 and will continue this year.
“Our capex planned for this year (FY23) includes investment in packaging materials and commercialisation, as we anticipate the challenging business environment to remain in 2023,” he said during its 2022 financial results briefing last Friday.
He said pressure from global supply chain disruptions, recessionary pressures from leading economies, rising input costs, currency fluctuations and rising inflation could impact consumer purchasing power.
“We will remain responsive to the volatile business environment and new market realities, with a focus on delivering our EverGreen strategy as well as future-proof the business to unlock efficiencies and reinvest in growth drivers,” he said.
On the revised Budget 2023 announced on Friday, managing director Roland Bala said the company welcomes the decision by the government not to increase excise duties on beer as any hike will fuel illicit alcohol demand.
The group witnessed a recovery in business performance in the last quarter of 2022 following the full reopening of the on-trade business. It shared that its premium lines have been growing faster than its mainstream lines, which was what it wanted to achieve as well as what consumers prefer. Heineken reported an increase in revenue and profit for the full year ended Dec 31, 2022, compared with the same period in 2021.
Net profit for FY22 increased 68% to RM412.82 million from RM245.68 million in the same quarter of the preceding year as the group recovered above pre-pandemic levels with the reopening of on-trade and entertainment channels and Malaysia’s international borders.
Its revenue for the year rose 44%, mainly attributable to an increase in sales volume following the reopening of international borders, increased on-trade consumption, as well as the positive mix impact from premium portfolio growth. The spike in revenue growth in 2022 was mainly due to the movement control order in 2021, during which the brewery was closed for 11 weeks.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022, its net profit grew 9.2% to RM104.63 million from RM95.85 million in the same period last year. Group revenue for the quarter grew by 14% to RM791.69 million versus the same quarter in 2021, mainly driven by a boost in sales volume from increased on-trade consumption and earlier festive sell-in for Chinese New Year 2023.
It has proposed a single-tier final dividend of 98 sen per stock unit for the year ended Dec 31, 2022, subject to shareholders’ approval.
