Malayan Flour Mills Q1/2008 profit up 181 percent

Kuala Lumpur / MY. (mfm) Malayan Flour Mills Berhad (MFM) saw its net profit jump by 192,9 percent to 24,6 million Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) in the first quarter of financial year 2008. It had posted a net profit of 8,4 million MYR for the previous year´s corresponding quarter. According to MFM´s announcement on Bursa Malaysia, the improvement to its bottomline came from an increase in revenue from the flour business and higher margins due to increased cost efficiencies. Revenue for the first quarter grew by 31,7 percent year-on-year to 291 million MYR from 221 million MYR. Although MFM´s flour business boomed the company saw losses at its poultry integration segment, according to the announcement. «As result of lower revenue of 39,3 million MYR compared to 44,8 million MYR for the prior year as well as lower margins, a higher loss of 7,6 million MYR was recorded by the poultry segment after taking into account a provision for impairment in value of property, plant and equipment amounting to 2,2 million MYR», the group says in a statement. Regardless, MFM is expecting its performance for the rest of the year to be satisfactory. «The group remains concerned with volatile raw material costs and ocean freight as these could adversely affect profit margins», stated Malayan Flour Mills.

_{About: Principal activities of the Malayan Flour Mills Bhd. are the milling and selling of wheat flour with its allied products. Other activities include processing and selling of poultry products, breeding and selling of day-old chicks and eggs, contract farming services, manufacturing and selling of animal feeds and related raw materials, provision of transport management services and investment holding. The group operates in Malaysia and Vietnam.}