Fraser and Neave (F99) H2 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY2023 revenue rose 4.8% to $2,099.1M and PBIT increased 6.5% to $248.5M; at constant currency, revenue grew 10% and PBIT 12%.

• Attributable profit before fair value adjustments and exceptional items rose 3.0% to $133.3M; EPS increased 3.4% to 9.2 cents.

• PAT increased 15.9% to $205.1M, including a $6.9M net exceptional gain; Dairies drove earnings growth, while Beverages PBIT declined and Publishing & Printing losses narrowed.

Financial highlights

• Gross profit rose 8.6% to $623.0M, faster than revenue growth; PBIT margin increased 19 bps to 11.8% from 11.7%.

• PAT rose to $205.1M from $176.9M; attributable profit was $133.3M versus $129.4M.

• Basic EPS before fair value adjustments and exceptional items was 9.2 cents versus 8.9 cents; NAV per share was $2.03 versus $2.11.

Outlook and guidance

• FY2024 priorities include productivity improvements to fund growth investment, address input costs and support balanced top- and bottom-line growth.

• Restructuring three loss-making Publishing & Printing entities in 2023 is expected to substantially reduce segment losses in 2024.

• Strong Q4 momentum and continued market-share, volume, sales and profit growth underpin the outlook.