Centurion Club: CONSUMER DEFENSIVE

Food Empire

Food Empire Holdings is the big winner at this year’s Centurion Club awards. It not only made a clean sweep of all four awards in the consumer defensive industry sector, Food Empire has also been named the overall winner of the Centurion Club this year. The company’s growth has been so remarkable that, in fact, with the recent gains, Food Empire’s market capitalisation has comfortably crossed the billion-dollar mark. 

The food and beverage manufacturer, listed on the Singapore Exchange since 2000, has a product portfolio that spans instant beverages, snack foods, and a growing presence in food ingredients. Its products are sold in over 60 countries across North Asia, Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North America. It operates nine manufacturing facilities in six countries and 23 offices worldwide. Amid the diversified portfolio, its instant coffee remains the key. It sells under various proprietary brands such as MacCoffee, CaféPHÔ, Petrovskaya Sloboda, Klassno, Hillway, and Kracks. MacCoffee — the flagship brand — has been consistently ranked as the leading three-in-one instant coffee brand in its core markets.

In FY2024, Food Empire generated revenue of US$476.3 million ($619 million), an increase of 11.9% y-o-y, with normalised net profit after tax of US$50 million, down 11.4% y-o-y, which still makes it the second highest in the company’s record. Despite the FY2024 drop, for the three years under review for this year’s awards, its PAT growth of 39.1% puts it at the very top of Singapore-listed companies with a market cap of below $1 billion. To reward shareholders, Food Empire paid a total dividend of 8 cents per share, marking the third consecutive year of increase in ordinary dividends.

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To beef up its resources for future growth by expanding capacity and acquisitions, Food Empire in FY2024 received an investment of US$40 million from Ikhlas Capital, an Asean private equity fund manager focused on growth, transformation, and cross-border value creation. The funds were raised in the form of five-year, 5.5% redeemable exchangeable notes. “We are excited about this strategic partnership and believe that Ikhlas Capital’s regional presence, knowledge and network in Southeast Asia will help the group further accelerate growth and scale in Southeast Asia and internationally,” says chairman Tan Wang Cheow in his FY2024 annual report message.

Throughout the year, the company actively bolstered its market leadership position, especially in Asia. Vietnam led the way as its fastest-growing consumer market, with Food Empire’s brands gaining new ground in market dominance to improve their market share.

Elsewhere in Russia, its earliest key market, the company’s sales continued to grow in local currency terms despite market challenges. Food Empire attributes this to the strong standing of its flagship MacCoffee brand and its effective price positioning. The Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and CIS markets segment also delivered higher revenue, with greater contributions from all markets in this segment.