Singapore Food Industries has today (26 October) posted a 5.5% increase in turnover for the first nine-months of 2006, increasing to US$440.1m on the back of strong growth overseas.
The group’s international operations generated a turnover of $267.4m, an increase of 12.5%, while overseas combined profit before tax rose 179.3% to $9.3m for the period.
Singapore operations posted a turnover of $172.7m for the nine-months, a decrease of 3.8%. Meanwhile Singapore PBT fell 35.8% to $17.4m, compared to $27m reported for the comparable period last year.
“The growth of our overseas operations was led by strong performance from our UK subsidiaries, Daniels Chilled Foods and International Cuisine Limited. However, in the Singapore operations, the reduced pig supply numbers had a significant adverse impact on the Abattoir and Hog Auction business”, said Roger Yeo, director & CEO-designate.
SFI said its UK subsidiary Daniels Chilled Food has agreed to buy Farmhouse Fare, a UK-based maker of traditional English puddings, for a maximum consideration of GBP10m. Final pricing will be determined based on Farmhouse Fare’s earnings for 2006, the company said.
“While the Singapore operations will still face challenges, we expect that the UK operations will continue with its strong growth trend for the rest of this year,” Yeo added.
The company’s board declared an interim gross dividend of 2.2 cents per share for FY2006, to be paid on 25 January 2007.
