Publicly-listed manufacturing chain FMF Foods Limited has posted a group revenue of $204.9million for the 2019-2020 financial year.
This represents a growth of 8 per cent when compared to the previous financial year when it recorded $190.2million in group revenue.
The group’s 2020 annual report released by the South Pacific Stock Exchange also noted the group recorded an 82 per cent increase in net profit from $6.8m in the preceding year to $12.4million.
However, considering the business and financial uncertainties created by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company has decided to maintain the dividend payout for the 2020 financial year at $3.0m, being the same as last year.
FMF Foods Limited board chairman Hari Punja said this year was a challenging time with the COVID-19 pandemic still making its impact felt, both on human lives and on economies across the globe.
He said Fiji had been no exception, and the impact on the economy had been severe with inbound tourism coming to a standstill and contributing most to the contraction of the economy by more than 21 per cent.
Mr Punja said despite expected concerns, it was not the COVID-19 situation that was expected to have any significant impact on Australian wheat production this year; “on the other hand, it is unfavourable weather conditions in some growing regions of Australia that could dampen the earlier estimates of a high crop in 2020-21, forecast to increase by 91 per cent to 29 million”.
He said wheat prices during the first half of the year had strangely remained firm, attributed to a combination of increased demand, uncertainty in production and a tight stock position of the old-season wheat.
“Prices for new-season wheat in the second half of our financial year are, however, expected to drop in line with the crop projections,” Mr Punja said in the report.
“As for consumption, the pandemic has had an impact on the level and pattern of consumer spending, particularly on discretionary-spend items such as sweet-biscuits, chips and noodles.
“The reduction in import duties and removal of import excise announced in the national budget 2020-21 is expected to bring in a higher volume of imported products into the country at very competitive prices.”
He said this could pose a fresh set of challenges, but quite apart from reduced consumption.
“While we are conscious of the near-term uncertainty caused by COVID-19, we will continue to focus on strengthening our operations and portfolio through innovations, leveraging our brands and working diligently on cost and productivity management.”
