S'pore beverages group profit up

S'pore beverages group profit up

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's leading food and beverage
manufacturer, the Fraser and Neave group, recorded a net profit
of S$43 million (US$28 million) for the half-year ending March
31, officials said.

The company, also involved in property and brewing, said in a
statement issued late Friday that this was 6.9 percent higher
than the profits for the corresponding period of the previous
year.

It attributed its good performance to the group's property
arm, Centrepoint Properties, which raked in a pre-tax
development profit of S$15.3 million from the sale of condominium
units.

However its other assosiate, Asia-Pacific Breweries, saw a 3.1
percent fall in its net profit to 40.7 million Singapore dollars
due to regional developments and higher taxes in Singapore.

Asia Pacific Breweries recently set up a plant in Vietnam and
began operations about three months ago. Its main business, the
production of soft drinks, saw a static performance with a pre-
tax profit of 12.6 million Singapore dollars, the statement said.

It added that start-up costs for a soft-drinks plant in
Cambodia was one of the factors for the static profits although
its trading performance there was improving.

It said that soft-drinks operating profits in Singapore and
Malaysia were improving but in Malaysia the gains were dampened
by pressure on margins and the weak Malaysian currency, the
ringgit.