April 8, 2004

Malaysia's Ayamas And KFC Holdings To Match 2003 Turnover Despite Bird Flu
 

KFC Holdings (M) Bhd (KFCH) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ayamas Food Corp Bhd expect to match their 2003 turnover of about RM1bil and RM450mil respectively this year, said KFCH group managing director Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

"We should match last year's sales for both companies," he told reporters after an official visit by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalulail to Ayamas' processing plant in Klang yesterday. 

Johari, who is also managing director of QSR Brands Bhd, which recently took over the listing status of Ayamas, said poultry sales at the start of the year were affected by the bird flu outbreak in neighbouring countries.

"Sales at the start of the year were slow but have recently picked up," he said, adding that sales were down by about 20% in February for both companies compared with the corresponding period last year. 

Johari said recovery in chicken sales was seen in the later part of March, and was down by only 5% compared with the same period last year. 

"We believe sales are getting better," he said, adding that the group was better focused after its major restructuring exercise.

"We hope to get better sales by improving Ayamas' production efficiency and by adding another five to 10 Ayamas outlets. We also plan to have another 16 KFC and 16 Pizza Hut outlets by the year end," Johari said. 

KFC now operates about 560 outlets under the KFC, Pizza Hut and Ayamas brand names.

On overseas export, Johari said the group was not yet ready to export chicken at a competitive price.

"We hope to export to the Middle East in time but for now the region's imports most of the chicken from Brazil and China which are more cost competitive because of cheaper labour. Also, they have a comparative advantage because corn and soya used as chicken feed are grown there," he said.