KUALA LUMPUR: Brewer Heineken Malaysia Bhd made a net profit of RM25.2mil in the second quarter, but warned that the 11-week business halt and the prolonged restrictions imposed on F&B outlets will impact its performance.

The Full MCO (FMCO) imposed by the government on June 1 then resulted in the full suspension of brewery operations until the restrictions were eased effective Aug 16.

“For the second time in two years, we faced another prolonged lockdown and had to suspend our brewery operations from June 2021 to August 2021 due to the FMCO imposed nationwide, and restrictions were imposed on F&B outlets,” managing director Roland Bala said in a statement today.

“This has impeded the Group’s ability to conduct its normal business operations,” he added.
Heineken returned to the black in the three-month ended June 30 compared to a loss of RM18.2mil a year ago.
Revenue was higher at RM349.4mil from RM253.7mil previously.
The company has declared an interim dividend payout of 15 sen a share.

“Despite the negative impact from the full MCO and continued market uncertainties, we will continue our initiatives to right-size the organisation and cost base to drive productivity and efficiency across the organisation,” Bala said.

“While we are hopeful that the gradual reopening of the economy and the acceleration of the Immunisation Programme would foster market recovery, the continued rise of daily infection cases coupled with the uncertainties around the political landscape will affect the market sentiment and challenge the market’s recovery going forward,” he added.