March 1, 2005

Dairy Farm net sales double to $251 million in 2004

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd., which operates supermarkets and drugstores throughout Asia, said 2004 profit almost doubled as sales climbed.

Net income at the Hong Kong-based, Singapore-listed company, rose to $251.3 million, or 18.7 cents a share, from $127.7 million, or 9.3 cents, Dairy Farm said in a statement distributed by the London Stock Exchange's Regulatory News Service. Sales rose to $3.96 billion from $3.46 billion.

Increased sales reflect both growth in Southeast Asia, where the company has expanded both through acquisition and opening new outlets, and an economic rebound in Hong Kong.

"In 2005, we should continue to see improvements in their major markets like in Hong Kong and I expect them to continue to expand in south Asia through key brands such as Giant,'' Alice Hui, an analyst at DBS Vickers Hong Kong Ltd., said before the earnings were released. "We expect some decent growth, but not huge growth -- double-digit growth.''

Dairy Farm will pay a final dividend of 5.3 cents a share, compared with 3.2 cents last year. The company said it will pay a special dividend of 25 cents a share. It paid an interim dividend of 2 cents a share.