[SINGAPORE] Food Empire posted a 16.3 per cent rise in its top line to US$136.6 million for the first quarter of FY2025 ended March, as most major markets delivered better performance.
However, the firm did not give its net profit for the period in the update filed with the bourse on Tuesday (May 13).
Contributing to the better performance was its dynamic pricing approach to cushion against inflationary pressures, rising operating costs and surging coffee bean prices, Food Empire said.
Vietnam stood out as revenue from the South-east Asian nation surged 44.6 per cent, driven by an enhanced sales force, effective marketing, as well as interactive consumer engagement activities that reinforced brand loyalty, it added.
Vietnam helped Food Empire’s South-east Asia market to leapfrog Russia – its traditional top revenue market – and emerge as its best-performing market with US$40 million in sales, up 33.8 per cent year on year.
Calling this an inflexion point in the group’s Asia-centric strategy, chief executive Sudeep Nair expects the group’s performance in Asia to be driven by its strong brand positions and supported by the pipeline of capacity expansion projects currently being carried out in the region.
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Construction of a freeze-dried soluble coffee manufacturing facility in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam, is expected to commence by the end of 2025 and be completed by 2028.
Commercial output from the new snack manufacturing facility in Malaysia will be ready in the third quarter, which will expand output capacity by approximately 50 per cent.
Construction of its first coffee-mix manufacturing facility in Kazakhstan is projected to be completed by end-2025 and will boost the group’s total coffee-mix production capacity by approximately 15 per cent.
In spite of the tariff turmoil, Food Empire does not expect any major impact because the US is not a significant market for the group.
Food Empire shares rose 1.3 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.53 at market close on Tuesday before this update was published.
