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Carlsberg Malaysia Declares Total Dividends Of RM167.8M For 2011

CARLSBERG MALAYSIA DECLARES TOTAL DIVIDENDS OF RM167.8 M FOR 2011 CONFIDENT ON 2012 GROWTH WITH PREMIUM BEER SEGMENT & EURO 2012 AS KEY CATALYSTS

KUALA LUMPUR, February 27, 2012 – With notable fourth quarter and full year 2011 results including a total dividend payout of RM167.8 million or 72.5 sen per share reported last week by Carlsberg Malaysia, the company today said that it remains committed to delivering profitable and sustainable growth for its shareholders in the coming year.

Among the expected key contributors to this growth are Carlsberg Malaysia’s premium beer segment, UEFA EURO 2012 promotions and contributions from Carlsberg Singapore Pte Ltd.

The Group’s top brand Carlsberg Green Label, which reaffirmed its leading position as the most preferred brand among all drinkers in Malaysia in 2011, is expected to continue to take the lead in 2012. Aggressive yet prudent strategies are in place to enhance the performance of its premium beer portfolio through local production, and new premium brands are in the pipeline to cater to different consumer preferences.

With UEFA EURO 2012 earmarked as a key growth catalyst for the year, Carlsberg Malaysia will be leveraging on the Carlsberg Group’s global sponsorship of one of the world’s largest football events with a significant investment in A&P to drive this.

Carlsberg has been a beer sponsor of UEFA EURO for almost a quarter of a century and the 2012 tournament will be the seventh consecutive tournament with Carlsberg as the official partner. Numerous exciting UEFA EURO 2012 marketing activities and rewarding promotions will be held throughout the country in April leading up to the final on July 2, 2012.

Its Managing Director Soren Ravn said: “Carlsberg Malaysia is set for the next level of growth with sound business strategies in place despite expectations that the year will be a challenging one due to rising raw material costs and operating cost inflation. But this will drive us to continue building upon our solid foundations to become an even stronger contender in the malt liquor market.”

“The rising input cost of products particularly the price of malt – a key material in brewing beer – is approximately 20% higher this year. Cost of aluminium cans in 2011 had also increased by 27% from 2010, while power tariff as well as natural gas costs also rose from mid-2011.”

“Despite the tough operating environment in the past year, we were still able to achieve earnings and beer sales targets. In 2012, we will continue to reinforce our leading position with Carlsberg brands and complement this by tapping synergies within the Carlsberg Group Global network for UEFA EURO 2012 to deliver great EURO moments, rewarding promotions and exciting on-ground activation expected to kick off in the second quarter of this year.”

He said, “Furthermore, our newly launched Kronenbourg 1664 and Kronenbourg Blanc are showing tremendous potential in the super premium segment together with premium brand Asahi Super Dry that we now produce in Malaysia under a long-term license deal with the brand owner in Japan. Our exciting and dynamic premium beer portfolio certainly creates strong synergies with our leading power brand, Carlsberg.”

According to Soren, fully-owned subsidiary Carlsberg Singapore Pte Ltd (CSPL) and associate company Lion Brewery Ceylon PLC also posted impressive double digit growth in revenue and earnings in 2011 and are expected to continue to deliver growth that will outpace the marketplace in a profitable, sustainable manner.

As Carlsberg Malaysia continues to optimise cost efficiencies and capacity utilisation in the brewery as well as leverage continuous improvement initiatives to deliver robust operational performance, it will also invest in its people by inculcating a stronger performance culture.

The company recently announced its 2011 financial year results where the Group’s profit after tax of RM167.4million rose by 24.8 per cent from RM134.1 million in 2010. The Group’s profit after tax reflected a one-off gain from the reversal of an over provision for royalty expenses made in the previous financial year amounting to RM12.0 million, and if it was excluded, the Group’s profit after tax would have a 17.3 percent growth against last year. This was achieved on the back of Group revenue of RM1.5 billion which was 8.9 per cent higher than the group revenue of RM1.4 billion achieved in the previous year.

 

About Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad’s Group (Carlsberg Malaysia Group):

The Carlsberg Malaysia Group now has a wide portfolio including leading international beer brands from around the world:

• Top international premium beer brands include Carlsberg, Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Becks, Fosters, Kronenbourg 1664 and Asahi Super Dry

• Specialty and other brands include Hoegaarden, Erdinger, Franziskaner, Tetley’s Ale, Danish Royal Stout, Connors Stout, Skol, Jolly Shandy and NutriMalt

Press

If you represent the media - print, online, radio or tv - please address enquiries concerning Carlsberg Group to:

Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director

Pearl Lai

Tel 03-5522 6414 Email [email protected]