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SINGAPORE - 29 August 2000 - Mainboard-listed Food Empire Holdings Ltd, a food and beverage manufacturer and marketer of instant beverage products, has turned in significantly improved interim profits, with expectations of profitability in the second half of the year.
For the six months ended 30 June 2000, the Group reported a 153% increase in profit after tax to $2.2 million on a 59% growth in turnover to $23.7 million. This compares favorably with a profit after tax of $869,000 on a turnover of $14.9 million in the previous corresponding period.
Based on the latest half-year result, earnings per share based on existing issued share capital rose to 0.64 Singapore cents from 0.34 cents previously. Net tangible asset backing per share also increased significantly to 7.41 cents from 4.51 cents.
Contributing t the approximately $8.8 million increase in turnover were the better performance of key markets such as Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the overall improved stability of these respective economies.
Besides the improvement in turnover, the Group was also able to enjoy better margins due to lesser reliance on contract manufacturing, improved operational efficiency, as well as lower cost of raw materials.
Commenting on the results, Food Empire's Managing Director Mr Tan Wang Cheow said: "We are very pleased with the significant improvements that our Group has made in the first half of this year. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we expect the Group's performance in the second half of the year to remain profitable."
"We will intensify our efforts to promote our products in the key markets during the traditional cold season to further increase our brand awareness and customer loyalty, and to expand our current distribution network," he added.
In 2000, Food Empire ventured into the wholesale distribution business, a B2C content portal (Asianparenting.com Pte Ltd), as well as caf? operations. As these are new start-ups, they are expected to incur further expenses during the initial phase of operations.
Central Asia and Indochina.