Want Want forecasts profit drop
Snack food producer Want Want China said its revenue and profit for 2014 may not “follow the increasing trend as demonstrated in the past year” due to the slowdown of the Chinese economy.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the country’s top snack and dairy products maker said its profit for last year could record a mid to high single-digit percentage decrease due mainly to the high cost of milk powder used in dairy products, while revenue “may record a low single-digit percentage decrease due mainly to the weakness in the overall consumer market in mainland China”.
Shorter periods of sales in the accounting period because of the difference in Lunar New Year dates is also a drag on revenue figures, according to Want Want.
Since its listing in Hong Kong in 2008, the annual revenue and profit of the company have grown by double-digit percentages every year until 2013. Between 2008 and 2013, the company clocked up a compound annual growth rate of approximately 20 per cent, according to Want Want.
The company will announce the annual results on March 17.
