Last checked at 6 Nov 2013 09:07
To: Business Editor For immediate release
The following announcement was issued today to a Regulatory Information Service approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.
DAIRY FARM INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
Interim Management Statement
6th November 2013 - Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited has today issued its Interim Management Statement covering the period from 1st July to 5th November 2013.
Sales growth was achieved in most of the Group's major businesses during the period under review, although cost pressures and margin investment in certain businesses led to earnings continuing to be slightly lower than in the previous year.
Satisfactory sales and profit growth were seen in the Group's Health and Beauty businesses, IKEA operations and restaurant associate, Maxim's. Overall, the Food businesses recorded lower profits despite an increase in sales. Wellcome and 7-Eleven in Hong Kong performed strongly, but this was offset by escalating costs and margin investment in the Food businesses in Singapore and Malaysia. The Group's results were impacted further on translation by the weaker Malaysian ringgit and Indonesian rupiah exchange rates.
The Group opened the fifth IKEA store in Taiwan in early September with encouraging initial trading and is expecting to open its first Guardian health and beauty store in Cambodia by the end of the year. Maxim's has now opened its third Starbucks store in Vietnam.
The Group's financial position remained strong and it held net cash at 31st October 2013.
Dairy Farm is a leading pan-Asian retailer. The Group, together with its associates and joint ventures, operate over 5,700 outlets - including supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, health and beauty stores, home furnishings stores and restaurants - employing over 97,000 people, and had total annual sales in 2012 exceeding US$11 billion. Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited is incorporated in Bermuda and has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore. It is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.
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For further information, please contact:
Dairy Farm Management Services Limited
Neil Galloway (852) 2299 1896
GolinHarris
Kennes Young (852) 2501 7987
This and other Group announcements can be accessed through the Internet at 'www.dairyfarmgroup.com'.