Dutch Lady’s bottom line up on lower raw material cost

KUALA LUMPUR: DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD [] posted an 81% rise in net profit to RM15.39 million in its second quarter (2Q) ended June 30, 2009 from RM8.52 million a year earlier despite a 6% drop in revenue, mainly due to lower dairy raw material prices.

Revenue fell to RM176.6 million from RM187.7 million mainly due to lower selling prices, while earnings per share (EPS) rose to 24.05 sen from 13.31 sen.

Net assets per share rose to RM2.90 as at June 30, 2009 from RM2.52 a year earlier. As with the previous year’s quarter, no dividend was declared.

The 2QFY09 revenue was higher compared with RM168.6 million in the preceding quarter as a result of consumer promotions, while pre-tax profit of RM19.9 million was higher than the previous quarter’s RM12.7 million due to higher sales and lower input costs.

For the first half of the year to June 30, its net profit rose 63% to RM24.14 million from RM14.82 million a year earlier, while revenue rose 29% to RM345.2 million from RM267.8 million. EPS rose to 37.72 sen from 23.15 sen.

“The company expects that the year 2009 will remain challenging due to cautious consumer spending,” it said in its notes accompanying the latest quarterly results. The defensive stock fell 30 sen or 2.54% to RM11.50 yesterday, with 1,000 shares traded.