May 24, 2004

Singapore Cerebos' Q2 Net Profit Not Affected By Bird Flu
 

For a company whose name is almost synonymous with chicken, Cerebos Pacific has not been affected much by the bird flu outbreak early this year, with sales of its flagship product, Brands Essence of Chicken, down only two percent for the quarter ended March 31.

Still, second quarter net profit fell 35 percent to S$12.5 million, due mainly to last year's second quarter earnings being boosted by a divestment.

Turnover rose 13 percent to S$156 million.

Brands is the most profitable part of Cerebos' business, accounting for the bulk of the company's operating profits.

But how did the company get through the bird flu outbreak earlier this year relatively unscathed?

"With increased communication with our consumers, we made them understand and told them how safe our product would be. Fortunately, our business recovered very quickly. The impact was quite slight and that was fortunate for us," said Cerebos president and CEO Eiji Koike.

Also helping was the reoccurrence of the SARS virus, which boosted sales of health supplements like Brands.

As for the outlook for the rest of the year, Mr Koike said, "We have been making a lot of headway in understanding our consumer needs and wants. Even though some impact will be there, we remain very confident in achieving good sales in the second six months of this year."

And if you need more chicken soup for the soul, Cerebos plans to launch new products in the second half-year.

Already, it has Brands in tablet form, sales for which soared 30 percent in the first half to almost S$7 million.