WHILE Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd expects business to recover, Carlsberg managing director Stefano Clini believes it will be a slow and gradual process due to depressed consumer sentiment.
“Consumer sentiment will likely be depressed, especially in the on-trade segment, as our partners face the challenges to F&B businesses such as reduced capacities, shorter operating hours, and other standard operating procedures,” said Clini at Carlsberg’s results briefing today.
This, he noted, has led to uncertainties in the outlook and recovery, which in turn has led to the quarterly dividend payout being temporarily suspended.
However, Clini also clarified that the dividend policy that Carlsberg will pay out 100% of its net profit for the year will be maintained.
He also pointed out that the reopening of on-trade outlets, especially for modern on-trade outlets such as bars and pubs, depends on the government as well. Comparatively, more traditional on-trade outlets such as coffee shops have seen stronger recoveries, especially as people are being allowed to dine in now.
“It all depends on how long Covid-19 will be around. As long as it is there, there will be social distancing, which will impact sales,” said Clini.
Carlsberg reported a revenue dip of 40.2% to RM287.3 mil for the second quarter of its 2020 financial year ended June 30 due to the significantly lower sales and the absence of consumer-facing promotions and activities to drive consumption during the movement control order (MCO) and the circuit breaker in Singapore.
As it stands, Carlsberg saw operations suspended for seven weeks. As a result, the group’s net profit also declined by 83.7% to RM10.6 mil for the quarter.
At the end of the trading day, Carlsberg’s shares were last done at RM23.20, down 34 sen, with 110,200 shares traded. – Aug 14, 2020
