DAIRY Farm International's interim results for the first half of the year were awful.
Long-term investors who have been waiting patiently for a bountiful harvest reaped after years of geographic diversification away from Hong Kong might as well write off 1995 right now.
Operating profit at the European and Asian supermarket chain operator slumped a shocking 35 per cent to US$41.4 million. Trading profit, after taking in associated firms was off 19.4 per cent to $86.8 million.
The fall by division at the profit before interest and taxation came in super markets where profit slumped 47 per cent to $27.4 million.
Geographically the group has been trying to spread revenue risk with relatively aggressive expansion in the past 10 years going into Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Spain. There have been tentative moves in Taiwan but almost nothing into the China market.
Lucky for the management that a buoyant inflationary economy in Hong Kong fuelled group profits and corporate expansion.
