This year, PSC Corporation celebrates 50 years in Singapore and the region. Established in 1974 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1990, the Group has consistently excelled at providing our customers with an ever-expanding range of quality essential products that are value for money and that meet their everyday needs. The PSC brand has been deeply entrenched in the minds of consumers and we hope to continue establishing even greater connections with future generations of consumers.
Indeed, we believe that building brands and product categories are absolutely essential to retaining their mindshare. It is a delicate process that takes years to build and retain. We are thankful that many of our brands have become household names and have enjoyed top-of-mind recall.
We are particularly proud of Royal Umbrella rice and Fortune tofu which continue to be number 1 brands in their categories.
Our other brands – Golden Peony, Golden Circle, Beautex – just to name a few – have also done well as leaders in their respective categories.
Building brands is not an easy task – it requires commitment to keep improving and innovating so as to cater to evolving trends while being consistent with customer engagement.
While PSC Corporation has had a remarkable growth story in the last 50 years, the next lap is even more critical because the economic, social and geo-political landscape has changed.
In order to gain competitive advantage, PSC will have to scale up, expand our market footprint, extend our product portfolio and enlarge the mindshare of our brands. We will continue to harness our existing strengths such as our brands, network and operational capabilities to accelerate our growth in the years ahead.
Apart from building brands, we will intensify our efforts to bring in more agency products to expand our offering. We will also deepen our foothold in Singapore and Malaysia markets, while looking beyond for further growth.
Meanwhile, our top-selling Fortune soya bean-based products, noodles and desserts will expand its production capacity. In November 2023, we announced the acquisition of a 1.2-ha freehold land in Pontian, Johore to build a factory that will expand our current Malaysia factory’s production capacity by 6 to 7 times. With this new factory, our existing noodle production lines in Skudai, Johor Bahru and grass jelly lines in Benut, Pontian will be integrated into a single facility, boosting efficiency and productivity.
Moreover, this new factory will enable Fortune to penetrate deeper into the vast Malaysian market and grow its market share through its existing FMCG network and channels.
As part of our continual sustainability efforts, the Group pays attention to the environment and adding value to the community at large. In 2023, we have installed solar panels at our Singapore and Malaysia facilities to generate more clean energy. In addition, our teams continue to support the less privileged in our communities through volunteerism, charitable projects, donations and fundraising initiatives.
For the year ended 31 December 2023, the Group’s net profit attributable to shareholders improved 11.8% to S$21.8 million despite revenue declining by 12.8% to S$482.1 million. This was largely due to lower sales contributions from our Packaging Business, mitigated by the higher demand experienced by our Consumer Business in Malaysia.
Overall gross profit margin improved by 2.8 percentage points to 23.6% which benefited from Packaging Business’ lower material costs. The Group maintained a healthy balance sheet during the financial period with its total assets position improving by 2.9% year-on-year to S$571.4 million. The. Group’s cash and cash equivalents similarly rose 13.0% to S$206.2 million.
Amidst continued high inflationary environment in this region and beyond, which weighs on consumer spending, the Group will focus on cost control measures while building on its strong brand equity and customer engagement as it continues to explore opportunities to drive growth.
The Directors propose a final dividend of 1.0 Singapore cent per share, as well as a special dividend of 0.5 cent in celebration of our 50th anniversary. Together with the interim dividend of 0.3 cent paid out earlier in 2023, the total dividend payout for FY2023 would be 1.8 cent per share, which is 44% more than the previous year. This is our way of expressing our deep appreciation for all of your support.
If approved at the upcoming Annual General Meeting on 25 April 2024, the final and special dividends will be disbursed on 20 June 2024.
As we look back at our achievements these 50 years, we remain true to our values of innovation, adaptability, dependability and trustworthiness which are values that endure and that position the Group for the future.
We will accelerate efforts to ensure that our brands remain on the top of consumers’ minds.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all of my fellow directors on the Board, senior management and staff for working so hard as a team amidst such trying times. In particular, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr John Chen for his tireless contributions during his tenure of directorship since 2003. Dr John Chen will be retiring at the upcoming Annual General Meeting following the mandatory 9-year tenure limit for independent directors as prescribed by the SGX.
I am also grateful for the support that we have received from our customers, business associates, suppliers and shareholders.
Let us look forward to a better 2024 ahead!
