By Rory Gallivan
Asian retail group Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd.
(DFIB.LN) said Wednesday it has performed satisfactorily so far in
2014 despite weakness in its food business.
Underlying profit was largely unchanged from the prior year,
according to the company, which operates in countries such as
Singapore and Malaysia and whose brands include Shopwise and
Foodworld.
"Like-for-like sales growth was achieved in most markets, and
increased profits were reported in the Health and Beauty, Home
Furnishings and Restaurants divisions," the company said.
"The Food businesses, however, continued to experience weaker
margins resulting from increased cost pressures, which led to
slightly lower profits despite the higher sales."
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter:
@RoryGallivan
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires