Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd Annual Report 2020

019 ANNUAL REPORT 2020 01 overview sen per share DIVIDEND FOR THE YEAR 60 Dear Shareholders and Stakeholders, The effects of COVID-19 on the economy and our lives have made almost everyone re-evaluate what is, and should be, important to us. At F&NHB, it further reinforced our Global Values, namely Collaboration, Creating Value and Caring for Stakeholders. The year saw a heightened level of collaboration, not only internally among our employees but also between F&NHB, our business partners and the community. Such collaboration, together with countless other initiatives, served to create value as well as care for our stakeholders. LIVING OUR GLOBAL VALUES Our “Caring for Stakeholders” value was perhaps most evident in the manner in which we have been ensuring the safety of our people and business partners while playing our part to support the community. During the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, we distributed over 650,000 products to the country’s tireless front liners at Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selayang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Royal Malaysia Police, the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and numerous city councils in both Peninsular and East Malaysia. Neither did we forget the marginalised, who were the worst hit by the pandemic. Over the course of Ramadan and Raya, we distributed over 500,000 products to about 10,000 underprivileged families under the ‘Tabahkan Rakyat Malaysia di Ramadan Mulia’ programme. For our consumers, we made sure to deliver on our brand promise of Pure Enjoyment, Pure Goodness by ensuring the continuity of our core products. At the same time, we developed more beverages that cater to the demand for healthier choices while maintaining great taste. Among the ten new additions this year were 100PLUS Zero, Sunkist Pure Juice Drink, F&N ICE MOUNTAIN Sparkling Water and my personal favourite, F&N Ready-to-drink Teh Tarik Ori. What is more, access to our products is now easier, via F&N Life, our online store. The value this brings has been underlined by the pandemic, providing our consumers with a practical alternative to going out for their favourite F&N products. There was also close collaboration and cooperation among F&NHB and various trade partners that ensured continued operations, enabling us to maintain our supply chain, from the supply of raw materials to the distribution of products. For this, I would like to acknowledge the responsiveness of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to the needs of manufacturers. Meanwhile, initiatives undertaken served to further strengthen our relationships with suppliers and distributors, many of whom have been serving the Group for generations. To add value to our shareholders, we have always protected their investments through increasing operational and cost efficiencies. Our performance this financial year again proves our resilience in an ever-changing environment. It gives me great pride to share that, despite the immense challenges faced – primarily from the pandemic but also from intensifying competition and volatile input prices – our profit after tax this year was maintained at RM410.1 million from RM410.2 million last year. This allowed us to continue to offer our shareholders steady dividends. For the financial year 2020 (FY2020), despite a poorer first half performance and the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we maintained an interim single-tier dividend of 27.0 sen per share amounting to approximately RM99.0 million, which was paid on 12 June 2020. I am happy to report that the Board is also proposing a final dividend of 33.0 sen per share which, if approved, would mean a total dividend for the year of 60.0 sen per share, matching last financial year’s dividends. Profit Before Tax (RM million) -1.9% FY2019 FY2020 533.0 522.9 Basic Earnings per Share (Sen) FY2019 FY2020 533.0 522.9 FY2019 FY2020 111.9 111.9