FOOD and beverage manufacturer Food Empire : F03 0% posted a revenue of US$117.5 million for the first quarter of its 2024 fiscal year ended March, a 14.5 per cent increase from US$102.6 million in the same period a year ago.

The company said in a bourse filing on Thursday (May 9) that the growth was led by its markets in South-east Asia, South Asia, as well as Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other markets under the Commonwealth of Independent States.

It added that the Russian market also saw healthy gains despite significant depreciation of the ruble.

Excluding the foreign exchange effects of the Russian ruble, the market achieved a revenue increase of 27.4 per cent in local currency terms.

“Although the group’s business was affected by currency weakness in certain markets and the rising cost of raw materials such as coffee beans, the success of ongoing brand-building efforts, marketing and promotional activities garnered strong loyalty among consumers, which helped to mitigate these challenging conditions,” read the filing.

The company added that geopolitical tensions and the macroeconomic environment have brought about different kinds of challenges across global markets, and that it is closely monitoring their potential impact on its business.

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Nevertheless, it is “cautiously optimistic” about the outlook of its core markets as consumer response continues to be encouraging and sales remain robust.

The company will also continue to conduct periodic reviews and adjust its sales and pricing strategies to mitigate the rising cost of raw materials.

“The capacity expansion in our ingredient business is integral to our overall longer-term organic growth strategy as we seek to reinforce our leading position in existing markets, while exploring potential new geographical regions,” said group chief executive officer Sudeep Nair.

Shares of Food Empire closed 3.6 per cent or S$0.04 lower at S$1.08 on Thursday.