Profit also derived from the out-of-home business under Nestlé Professional which has benefitted from the increased mobility and reopening of Horeca channels post-lockdown 

by NURUL SUHAIDI / Pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

NESTLÉ (M) Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1Q22), has increased from RM175.2 million to RM205.1 million driven by the higher domestic and export sales and strong performance of its core product. 

The profit was also derived from the out-of-home business under Nestlé Professional which has benefitted from the increased mobility and reopening of hotel, restaurant and café (Horeca) channels post-lockdown. 

Meanwhile, Nestlé revenue for 1Q22 has seen an increase of 16.9% from RM1.45 billion to RM1.69 billion against last quarter mainly due to higher sales during the Chinese New Year period. 

“Overall, the positive revenue momentum was built due to Chinese New Year festive selling as well as the introduction of several exciting new products during the quarter,” it said. 

Notably, in 4Q21, the company continued its sustainability agenda during the quarter with 100% of its electricity needs now from the green tariff enabled by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. 

“During last quarter, we also have built positive response to our kerbside collection and recycling programme to expand the initiative to more communities, including Kuala Lumpur through a partnership with Alam Flora Environmental Solutions Sdn Bhd,” it said. 

According to its filing in a local bourse, the food and beverage manufacturer posted higher earnings per share of 87.5 sen versus a lower per share of 74.7 per sen in the same quarter last year. 

For the remaining year, the company is confident in sustaining growth momentum across the year, even though it can potentially see the growth levelling down from current high levels in the coming quarter. 

It added that the global environment remains very challenging, with widespread inflation gaining traction across the world and also in Asia, aggravated by the war in Ukraine impacting further prices and availability of key food commodities such as wheat, barley and sunflower oils. 

“Nonetheless, we are doing our best to balance the tensions on our cost value chain with internal efficiencies and moderate price increases,” it said. 

Overall, 2022 is shaping as a year of solid growth in the top line for the company despite some pressure on the bottom line as mentioned. 

Moving forward, the company is set to leverage the meaningful progress in its ESG agenda to contribute to Malaysia’s sustainable progress and drive more resilient results despite the hurdles. 

It also recently embarked on a partnership with Universiti Putra Malaysia to spearhead the Putra Community Nutrition Ambassador Programme aimed to empower 100 mothers in People’s Housing Project communities in the Klang Valley for a healthier lifestyle.