Delfi Limited P34 has reported ebitda of US$25.5 million ($34.1 million) for the 1QFY2023 ended March 31, 24.5% higher y-o-y. The improvement was due to the higher revenue, high profitability and tight control of operating expenses.
Ebitda margin increased by 50 basis points (bps) to 15.9% for the quarter.
Revenue for the quarter rose by 20.8% y-o-y to US$160.8 million as revenue across the group’s main market, Indonesia, as well as regional markets rose y-o-y. Revenue for the group’s own brands and agency brands also improved across the board. Revenue for own brands grew by 17.6% y-o-y to US$100.3 million while revenue for agency brands rose by 26.7% y-o-y to US$60.5 million.
In Indonesia, revenue rose by 19.2% y-o-y to US$110.8 million mainly due to the group’s SilverQueen and Delfi Premium products.
The group’s regional markets also grew by 24.5% y-o-y to US$50.0 million.
Gross profit margin in the 1QFY2023 grew by 130 bps to 30.4% mainly due to a higher contribution from the group’s premium brands in its sales mix.
On a q-o-q basis, gross profit margin fell by 2.4 percentage points due mostly to higher levels of trade promotions in 1QFY2023 to drive the strong sales growth and higher consumer demand for Valentine’s Day and Lebaran. Lebaran is the name of two Islamic official holidays in Indonesia.
For the quarter ended March, the group generated strong operating cash flow of US$25.4 million.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at US$95.3 million as at March 31.
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Looking ahead, Delfi says it expects the positive momentum from its first quarter to carry through for the most part of 2023 despite the continuing global economic uncertainties.
“We remain focused on executing growth strategies for our core brands, strengthening our distribution capabilities and supporting growth in our regional businesses so as to continue to benefit from this expected growth in consumer demand in our key markets,” says the group.
“With our strong balance sheet and effective product and distribution strategies in place, barring unforeseen circumstances, we look forward to a good performance in 2023,” it adds.
Shares in Delfi closed 2 cents lower or 1.56% down at $1.26 on May 16.