Heineken Malaysia maintains stable profits in 1Q25
Heineken Malaysia managing director Martijn van Keulen.
PETALING JAYA: Heineken Malaysia Bhd expects consumer sentiment to be impacted by inflationary pressures and ongoing global economic uncertainties.
These uncertainties are driven by the newly introduced US tariffs and escalating US–China trade tensions, which may affect consumer confidence and spending behaviour.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (1Q25), the brewery's net profit was marginally lower by 0.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM122.2mil or earnings per share of 40.44 sen.
Revenue in 1Q25 was down by 3% y-o-y to RM763.6mil, primarily influenced by the timing of Chinese New Year (CNY). The company said this year's festive period fell in January, resulting in an earlier sell-in activity that took place in 4Q24.
In comparison, CNY in 2024 took place in February, driving a more concentrated sales period within 1Q24 as sales momentum spanned both January and February; while the festive boost in 1Q25 tapered off after January.
The company added despite the low single-digit revenue decline, its profits remained stable and resilient, delivering a flat year-on-year performance in 1Q25. Particularly, effective cost management and improved financial efficiency, as reflected in lower interest expenses during the quarter improved its operating leverage.
Heineken Malaysia managing director Martijn van Keulen said the group will continue to navigate the dynamic landscape with agility, driving topline growth through targeted commercial initiatives while maintaining disciplined cost control and operational efficiency to sustain healthy margins.
'We will continue to future-proof the business, as we execute our EverGreen strategy in navigating the evolving external environment.
'This strategy is anchored on driving superior growth with a cost-conscious mindset, catering to evolving consumer preferences, embedding sustainability into our operations, investing in becoming the best-connected brewer, and most importantly, unlocking the potential of our people,' he said.
Further, the group said it appreciates the government's decision to maintain excise duties on beers in Budget 2025, as any hike in excise rates will drive greater demand for illicit alcohol.
'The group remains committed to supporting the government in mitigating illicit trade through holistic efforts, including enforcement collaboration and raising greater awareness in the market,' it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Pent-up demand to lift KPJ's earnings in 2H
PETALING JAYA: KPJ Healthcare Bhd is expected to post stronger earnings momentum in the second half of this year (2H25) on the back of pent-up demand, the ramp up of its newer hospitals and growing case complexity, analysts say. Four of KPJ's expanded hospitals are already in the black in terms of earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), said Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB). Maybank IB is positive on KPJ's revenue and earnings potential near to mid-term as the roll-out of diagnosis-related group costing method takes a backseat for now. During a recent analyst briefing, KPJ's management also reaffirmed that the healthcare group remains on all major insurance panels. It alleviated concerns over volume attrition amid the government's 10% cap on medical insurance premium hikes, said the research house. It added that it also continues to see potential upside from medical tourism. Maybank IB maintained KPJ's Ebitda margin forecast of 24% for this year to 2027 and three-year earnings compound annual growth rate of 17%. The research house said its target price of RM3.24 and 'buy' call on the stock implies an enterprise value to Ebitda of 13 times for next year. Maybank IB said it believes the recent sell-off in KPJ was overdone, and could provide a good buying level for KPJ, which was backed by healthy fundamentals, expectations of stronger earnings in 2H25, and positive sector outlook. It also indicated that some near-term weakness could persist. This is as KPJ's recent rebound has been relatively mild. A stronger buy signal would be triggered if the price breaks above the previous support-turned-resistance level at RM2.82 a share, Maybank IB said. Despite a bigger overlap of festivities and holidays for Chinese New Year and Ramadan, the first-quarter results for this year came broadly in line with revenue, Ebitda, net profit growth forecasts of 7%,7% and 12% year-on-year. Largely driven by improved case-mix and a healthy bed occupancy rate of 63%, this indicates continued structural strength and reinforces 1Q25 seasonal drag's transitory nature.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
No work for ‘gooey-duck' divers
FOR over two decades, Suquamish tribal member Joshua George has dived into the emerald waters of the Salish Sea in Washington state looking for an unusually phallic clam that's coveted thousands of kilometres away. George is a geoduck diver. Pronounced 'gooey-duck,' the world's largest burrowing clam has been harvested in tidelands by George's indigenous ancestors in the US Pacific Northwest since before Europeans arrived. In recent years, it has also become a delicacy in China, with Washington sending 90% of its geoducks there, creating a niche yet lucrative American seafood export. But the trade war between the US and China is now crippling an entire industry that hand-harvests geoducks, leaving divers without work, Seattle exporters without business and Chinese aficionados with fewer of these prized clams. 'It's the first time in 24 years where I don't know when or if we'll be going back to work or if I have to find another job or what we're going to do,' George said. A customer looking at geoducks from Canada at a restaurant in Sanya in southern China's Hainan province. — AP US President Donald Trump's tariff-driven economic feud with China, which dates back to his first term in office, swiftly resumed in February within weeks of taking back the White House. By April, Trump had placed tariffs of at least 145% on China, which led China to retaliate with tariffs of 125% on the United States. Last month, the United States and China agreed to slash their massive tariffs. The United States agreed to drop the 145% tax Trump imposed last month to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on US goods to 10% from 125%. But the tariffs remain. Enter the geoduck, weighing about a kilogramme and so entrenched in local culture that it is the mascot for Evergreen State College in Olympia. The meaty mollusk is best described as sweet and briny, and it's often sliced raw for crisp sashimi out west while China consumers prefer it chewy in stir-fries or hot pot soups. A child looking at geoducks from Canada at a restaurant in Sanya. — AP Pre-tariff costs were as high as US$100 for 500g in restaurants, so it's a dish generally reserved for special occasions like Chinese New Year, or to celebrate a business gathering. Unlike other products with long-lasting shelf life and standing inventory, the trade war has had an immediate, direct effect on the delicate geoducks, which are shipped alive the same day of harvest. 'The whole market, everybody just had to stop,' said Jim Boure, general manager of Suquamish Seafoods, an enterprise of the Suquamish Tribe. 'We started getting phone calls from buyers saying orders are cancelled.' The millions of kilogrammes of geoducks shipped annually to China come from two main sources: wild harvests on tracts of seafloor that are split between the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes, and tideland farms. The state's share is auctioned to private exporters that often hire contract divers to harvest them. As of late April, Washington state divers had only pulled about half of the expected harvest from the state tracts, said Blain Reeves, an aquatic resources division manager for the state's Department of Natural Resources. Daniel McRae unloading a bag of harvested geoduck clams from his brother Derrick (hidden) on their boat near Illahee State Park in Bremerton, Washington. — AP Last year, the state and tribes collectively harvested about 1.5 million kilos of wild Washington geoduck for sale. The state generated US$22.4mil in revenue for their half of the clams, which went towards paying for aquatic restoration projects locally. The state doesn't track how much is harvested by private farmers. 'If only half the pounds that were contracted are harvested, then our revenue is halved,' Reeves said. The Suquamish operation has no orders to harvest for at the moment, but it still must keep up with the maintenance to stay ready for business if and when the trade war ends. In April, George's team made a quick trip to collect a handful of the clams for state lab testing. Two whole geoducks (left) are displayed with a sashimi preparation of the clam, at Chelsea Farms Oyster Bar in Olympia, Washington. — AP 'When we're doing the job, and it's not all this other political stuff behind the scenes and everything else, we love this,' said George, adding that diving, which takes place early in the day so that the geoducks are on an airplane by evening, has allowed him to watch his kids grow up. Fellow diver Kyle Purser said he cherishes his underwater job, but now fears it's being taken away. 'When you're watching your money disappear and you've got families to feed and not knowing when you're going to get your next paycheck, (it's) very stressful,' he said. The geoduck import market was already facing weaker demand in recent years due to the loss in demand following the pandemic. While the tariffs have only exacerbated troubles for geoduck sellers in Washington, there's also been an unintended consequence: the American trade war has inadvertently boosted the Canadian geoduck business, which is facing a lower tariff rate. Washington state in the US and Canada's British Columbia province are the two primary places where the wild geoducks grow naturally for commercial harvest. The two countries did healthy business primarily serving Chinese appetites for decades, in part because quantities are limited. It's a labour-intensive and heavily-regulated harvest, as divers must go several metres below the surface to dig for the clams. 'They love the fact that it tastes like the sea,' said James Austin, president of Canada's Underwater Harvesters Association. 'It's a product that's really a hit with the Chinese. It's all about the wild coastline. It's really prestigious.' Austin said he expects there will be 1.25 million kilos of Canadian geoducks harvested in 2025, worth approximately US$43.4mil in revenue. While demand has been relatively low but still steady for Canadian's geoducks, Austin said they're now the leading exporters for China, which has helped them negotiate higher prices as a result. 'We have no competitors right now,' Austin said. Yang Bin at Beihai Huaxiashougang Health Industry Company in Beihai city of Guangxi province in China said their seafood wholesale important business no longer gets geoduck from the United States. 'We don't care about US tariffs because we can get geoduck from other countries with stable prices,' Yang said. On their first week back to work since the tariff fight brought business to a standstill in Washington state, Derrick McRae and his brother pulled up about 360kg of wild geoducks in just one April day. He donned a full-body diving outfit with an oxygen line tethered to his boat to dive under the cold waters of an inland sea channel west of Seattle. Kneeled on the seafloor, McRae used a water spray gun to move the sand covering the geoducks. In the cloud of sediment, he felt for the neck with his hand, pulling the clam and stuffing it in a net attached to him. 'We're just kind of waiting on the edge of our seats to see what happens next,' McRae said. — AP
![SME group welcomes LPG permit relief but says retail slump persists [WATCH]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fassets%2FNST-Logo%402x.png%3Fid%3Db37a17055cb1ffea01f5&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- New Straits Times
SME group welcomes LPG permit relief but says retail slump persists [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: The government's decision to exempt small traders from enforcement over the use of subsidised LPG cylinders offers some relief but does little to ease the ongoing retail slowdown, says the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Association of Malaysia. Its president Dr Chin Chee Seong said delays in policy clarity, coupled with mounting operational costs, are putting increased pressure on already vulnerable micro and small businesses. "From day one, this exemption should have been made clear. "Why wait until the issue escalates and becomes political? The government must act faster," said Chin during an interview with NST's Beyond the Headlines. On Thursday, the Cabinet agreed that micro and small-scale food and beverage traders may continue using subsidised LPG cylinders without the need for a Scheduled Controlled Goods Permit (PBKB) until October. The exemption remains in effect throughout the ongoing Op Gasak enforcement period and until amendments to the Control of Supplies (Amendment) Regulations 2021 are finalised. While supporting the move, Dr Chin called for more structured engagement with stakeholders including associations representing hawkers, eateries, and retailers as well as the association. "They should collect proper data from the ground before deciding on such regulations. If both sides understand the rationale — how much gas is used, for example — it can reduce friction and ensure smoother policy implementation," he said. He added that poorly communicated decisions risk being politicised or misunderstood, even if they are not initially intended to target micro traders. He highlighted the challenging economic environment facing small businesses and noted that retail and consumer spending have been declining since the Chinese New Year period. This trend, he said, is expected to be reflected in upcoming reports by the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA). "At a time when consumer spending is falling and the economy is still in recovery mode, adding more cost pressures or regulatory uncertainty will only make things worse for micro and small businesses," he added. The government has said that findings from Ops Gasak, which targets the misuse of subsidised LPG by medium and large-scale industrial users, will serve as a key reference for reviewing the regulations. Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said a technical committee, chaired by his ministry's secretary-general, will oversee the review and ensure that amendments reflect the specific needs of micro and small-scale food and beverage traders. Dr Chin, however, noted that unless future regulatory changes are grounded in meaningful consultation with those most affected, such issues will continue to stir controversy and erode business confidence.
