
DFI Retail Group to Announce 2025 Half-year Financial Results and Host Analyst Presentation Live Webcast
Date: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Time: 09:30 - 10:30 am (Hong Kong Time)
Presented by: Mr. Scott Price, Group Chief Executive and Mr. Tom van der Lee, Group Chief Financial Officer
Tuesday, 18 July 2025.
Kindly RSVP by completing the form on or before
To avoid delays, we encourage participants to log in ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. A replay of the presentation will be available via webcast on DFI Retail Group's website
Should you have any queries please email us at
[email protected]
Hashtag: #DFIRetailGroup #Mannings #Guardian #7-Eleven #Wellcome #MarketPlace #ColdStorage #Giant #IKEA #yuu
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
DFI Retail Group
DFI Retail Group (the 'Group') is a leading Asian retailer, driven by its purpose to "Sustainably Serve Asia for Generations with Everyday Moments". The Group is dedicated to delivering quality, value and exceptional service to Asian consumers through a compelling retail experience, supported by an extensive store network and highly efficient supply chains. The Group, including associates and joint ventures, operates a portfolio of well-known brands across five key divisions: health and beauty, convenience, food, home furnishings, and restaurants.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Free Malaysia Today
25 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
MAG banking on scale to stay in the game
MAG managing director Izham Ismail said the pandemic's aftershocks, compounded by geopolitical tensions, are driving up costs for aviation parts and delaying access to critical components. PETALING JAYA : Scale and capacity are critical for airlines competing in today's increasingly crowded skies. Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Malaysia Airlines, learned this the hard way when it grounded ageing aircraft over safety concerns, triggering an 18% reduction in capacity in the fourth quarter of 2024. These cuts led to the cancellation of nearly 6,300 flights and disrupted around one million passengers. Significantly, they weighed on the group's financials, with net profit after interest and tax (NIAT) slumping to RM54 million for the financial year ending 2024. In the third quarter of this year, MAG has restored operations to near previous levels. Its fleet now stands at 115 aircraft, including 42 Boeing 737-800s under Malaysia Airlines and five under Firefly. However, the age of its fleet remains a structural vulnerability. 'Malaysia Airlines did not invest itself well over the past two decades. The product is outdated,' MAG managing director Izham Ismail told FMT in an exclusive interview. Lease and supply chain vulnerabilities Adding to the structural vulnerability is MAG's historic reliance on operating leases to manage capital expenditure. These 12-year leases may reduce upfront investment, but they shift substantial costs to the tail-end of the aircraft lifecycle. Under typical end-of-lease clauses, the aircraft must be returned in near-new condition — requiring costly overhauls of engines, interiors and airframes. While viable under normal market conditions, the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the limitations of this approach. With borders closed, the fleet grounded and supply chains disrupted, the backloaded cost obligations of these leases became a serious strain on MAG's cash flow. More than three years on, supply chain instability continues to be a thorn in the industry's side. Izham noted that the pandemic's aftershocks, compounded by geopolitical tensions — particularly in Ukraine, a key source of raw materials for aviation parts — are still driving up costs and delaying access to critical components. He believes these disruptions are likely to persist for at least another three to five years, pointing out that 'the game of catching up or producing components is not an overnight issue'. For airlines looking to refresh their fleet, long lead times only add to the complexity. 'Today, if you order an airplane, it doesn't come within the (usual) one or two years — it comes five, six years from now,' said Izham. These bottlenecks are exacerbated by global staff shortages and capacity issues at original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service providers in the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) segment. Malaysia Airlines, which relies on Rolls-Royce and GE for engine maintenance and replacement, has found that despite service level agreements stipulating a 55-75-day window, aircraft and engines are often returned only after more than 100 days. While the situation is industry-wide, Izham admitted that some competitors are better equipped to weather the disruption. 'Other airlines have larger volumes in assets — they are able to reconfigure their network to accommodate the shortage of airplanes,' he said. Repairing the balance sheet MAG has taken several steps to address these longstanding vulnerabilities. Over 90% of its fleet was on operating leases, many of which were nearing maturity and bringing with them heavy maintenance obligations. To mitigate risks, the group launched a RM15 billion debt restructuring in 2020-2021. The effort included negotiations with lessors and creditors to defer payments, revise rental terms and ease end-of-lease conditions. According to Izham, the result has been a leaner, more agile balance sheet. Still, long-term sustainability will require a rethinking of the group's leasing strategy. MAG plans to gradually shift from operating leases towards a more balanced model that incorporates financial leases, which allow airlines to own aircraft via capital or debt financing. 'Currently, our assets are predominantly (about 90%) operating on leases. 'Slowly, we are shifting towards a more amiable position of at least striking a balance between operating leases and financing leases… But this doesn't happen overnight. We can only attain that in 2035. So, we have a long way to go,' Izham said. Despite improvements in top-line performance, Izham acknowledged that the group's cost base is 'not yet fully transformed'. Scaling up for survival With restructuring under way, MAG is also turning its focus towards fleet renewal and growth. The strategy is clear — scale matters. Izham explained that in today's aviation market, having a sufficient fleet size is essential for pricing power and market share. 'You look at the low-cost carriers — they have hundreds of airplanes. It's all about scale. 'The minute you have scale, you control market share. And when you have market share, you can price a product efficiently.' As part of its wider plan to modernise and expand its fleet, MAG is investing billions in new planes, including announcements of recent orders for narrow-body Boeing 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft and ongoing delivery of the wide-body A330neo aircraft since late 2024. The airline had also announced the acquisition of 20 additional A330neo aircraft, reinforcing its long-term vision of building a future-ready fleet that supports sustainable growth, delivers consistent value to passengers and strengthens competitiveness in key markets. For Izham, the need to scale isn't just strategic — it's existential. He added that Malaysia Airlines has had a chequered journey, but what was more crucial was having the stamina to move forward. 'Will it turn around overnight? The answer is no. It's all about resilience and staying the course.'


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Asia shares helped by Nvidia high as investors unfazed by Trump's tariff moves
SINGAPORE: Asian stocks rose slightly on Thursday, riding on optimism from Nvidia's brief rise to a world-record US$4 trillion valuation and as investors largely shrugged off US President Donald Trump's latest tariff salvos. US copper futures widened their premium to the London benchmark overnight after Trump announced plans to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper. He later said on Wednesday the levies would come into effect on August 1. Trump also turned his trade ire against Brazil on Wednesday as he threatened a punitive 50 per cent tariff on exports to the US and issued tariff notices to seven minor trading partners. The latest moves did little to rattle markets, leaving MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.2 per cent. The Nikkei fell 0.56 per cent, while China's CSI300 blue-chip index rose 0.2 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.1 per cent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.18 per cent and FTSE futures advanced 0.33 per cent. Artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia on Wednesday became the world's first company to hit a US$4 trillion market value, as it solidified its position as one of Wall Street's most favoured stocks. US stock futures eased slightly in Asia on Thursday, with Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures both down about 0.2 per cent each, after both indexes closed higher in the cash session overnight. The market reaction to Trump's tariff developments this week has been much less severe than the post "Liberation Day" selloff in April, with Jeff Ng, SMBC's head of Asia macro strategy, saying investors have grown somewhat "numb" to the ever-changing situation. "They know that there is still room for negotiation. A lot of these announcements, they start off with eye-catching numbers, but they are not totally final, and they are still subject to changes. Even if they are implemented, they could also be reversed in the coming few months to year," he said. Also keeping stocks supported were expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year. Minutes released on Wednesday showed "most participants" at the Fed's meeting last month anticipated rate cuts would be appropriate later this year, with any price shock from tariffs expected to be "temporary or modest". "Right now, markets are not pricing in a high chance of a full-blown recession at this stage, given that the labour market continues to be quite resilient, but they know that there's a lot of pressure to push policy rates lower, so that could lower the opportunity cost of holding equities," Ng said. DOLLAR EASES The dollar was on the back foot on Thursday, falling 0.4 per cent against the yen to 145.79 after a sharp rise earlier this week when Trump slapped Japan with 25 per cent tariffs. The euro was up 0.17 per cent to US$1.1742 and sterling gained 0.11 per cent to US$1.3605. An exception was the Brazilian real, which languished near a one-month low at 5.5826 per dollar owing to Trump's tariff threat on Latin America's largest economy. "Despite the S&P 500's impressive rally, the US dollar continues to retreat, underscoring a shifting global macro narrative," said Julia Wang, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. "We believe the greenback remains 5-15 per cent overvalued and expect continued weakness as cyclical convergence and capital reallocation trends play out." In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin hovered near a record high and was last at US$111,234.63, while ether was up 1.3 per cent to US$2,775.54. "We're seeing our clients take a more measured approach, making strategic allocations into cryptocurrencies with real utility instead of chasing short-term moves. Bitcoin remains the top pick on our platform," said Gracie Lin, OKX's Singapore CEO. Elsewhere, oil prices fell on Thursday, with Brent crude futures down 0.16 per cent to US$70.08 per barrel, while US crude lost 0.22 per cent to US$68.23 a barrel.


Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Two-time prime minister Dr M turns 100
Dr Mahathir Mohamad held the post of prime minister twice, from 1981 to 2003 and again from May 2018 to February 2020. PETALING JAYA : Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad turned 100 years old today, reaching a century of life marked by decades of political influence. Mahathir, the youngest of nine siblings, was born on July 10, 1925 in Alor Setar, Kedah. He led the Barisan Nasional (BN) government from 1981 to 2003 and held the top post again from May 2018 to February 2020 under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, after helping to topple BN from power. He is known as Malaysia's 'Father of Modernisation' for the initiatives he carried out as fourth prime minister, including iconic infrastructure projects like the Petronas Twin Towers, KL Tower, KLIA, and Putrajaya as the nation's administrative hub. Mahathir also oversaw the launch of Malaysia's first carmaker, Proton Holdings Bhd, and introduced the Look East Policy, promoting education and business ties with nations like Japan and South Korea. During his first tenure as prime minister, Mahathir presided over the rise of the Malaysian economy as an 'Asian Tiger', pushing industrialisation to drive the economy. He also promoted the extensive privatisation of the economic sector, including many government-owned companies like Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd. He was seen as key in navigating the Asian financial crisis, choosing bold measures like capital controls and pegging the ringgit to the US dollar instead of seeking help from the International Monetary Fund. Mahathir, now an adviser to the PAS-led state governments of Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis, remains a divisive figure in Malaysian politics. He has been openly critical of his former deputy, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as well as PH and Umno, a key component in the unity government. He and his wife, Dr Hasmah Ali, 98, have seven children: Marina, Mirzan, Melinda, Mokhzani, Mukhriz, Maizura and Mazhar.