Dairy Farm International reported Thursday its third-quarter combined sales, including associates and joint ventures, were higher on-year, mainly on the investment in Robinsons Retail in late 2018.
For the hypermarkets and supermarkets segment, revenue declined due to the Southeast Asia store optimisation plan and the divestment of the Rustan Supercenters business, Dairy Farm said in a filing to SGX. However, the segment’s profit increased as the store optimization plan increased quality and operating standards, the company said.
“While the turnaround of the Southeast Asian businesses remains at an early stage, there are encouraging signs of improvement,” Dairy Farm said.
“The group continues to invest in and grow its capabilities in Southeast Asia in line with the multi-year transformation plan. While sales in North Asia were ahead of last year, profits were impacted by rental and labor cost pressures,” it added.
The convenience store segment posted sales rose on-year, but profitability was slightly lower on ongoing investment in new stores and rental and labor cost pressures.
For the health and beauty segment, Southeast Asia saw sales improvement, but overall revenue revenue weakened, hurt by difficult market conditions in Hong Kong, Dairy Farm said.
“Mannings’ sales and profits have been significantly impacted by the ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong. Guardian in Southeast Asia, however, delivered an encouraging performance, with solid sales growth, particularly in Indonesia,” the company said.
Read Dairy Farm’s interim update.
