Operations Review
(Extracted from Annual Report 2025)
Financial Performance
The Group delivered its fifth consecutive year of record growth with revenue surpassing half-a-billion USD for the first time to reach US$576.9 million, normalised EBITDA crossed the US$100 million mark to US$113.5 million, while normalised net profit after tax (“NPAT”) surged to US$68.6 million1 for the financial year ended 31 December 2025 (“FY2025”).
This is the strongest performance in Company history and it was a result of Food Empire's continued investment in brand-building efforts. The Group's customer engagement activities are tailored to each market to retain customer loyalty and increase customer acquisition, and the positive outcomes are reflected in its revenue performance.
In FY2025, the Group's revenue was boosted by strong growth across its segments2 including Russia (up 34.8% to US$191.0 million), South-East Asia (up 14.3% to US$147.8 million), Central Asia (up 25.6% to US$102.0 million), South Asia (up 15.7% to US$71.0 million) and Europe (up 7.6% to US$48.6 million). For the purpose of comparing underlying performance, Russia had achieved a 20.9% increase in revenue in local currency terms.
The Group achieved a normalised NPAT of US$68.6 million1 in FY2025 as compared to a normalised NPAT of US$50.0 million1. Sales and marketing expenses rose 34.8% from US$36.1 million in FY2024 to US$48.7 million in FY2025 in view of higher spending on advertising and promotions throughout the year to boost sales. General and administrative expenses increased 14.4% from US$45.0 million in FY2024 to US$51.5 million in FY2025 in view of higher staff cost.
In September 2025, Food Empire raised net proceeds of approximately S$41.8 million from the placement of 17.0 million treasury shares. The exercise enabled the Group to monetise treasury shares from share buybacks over the years, and strengthened the Group's war chest, which positions it to pursue growth opportunity, optimise its balance sheet and reinforce long-term investor confidence, attracting strong interest from prominent institutional and strategic investors including Amova Asset Management, ICH Capital and Lion Global Investors Limited.
Financial Position
The Group's trade payables and accruals increased by US$15.6 million from US$55.8 million as at 31 December 2024 to US$71.4 million as at 31 December 2025 due to higher procurement from the South India and Russia operations coupled with the appreciation of the Russian Ruble and higher accrued cash compensation in relation to the REN and staff cost.
The Group generated a cash inflow of US$87.1 million from operating activities in FY2025, bringing its cash and cash equivalents to US$180.8 million as at 31 December 2025 (US$130.9 million as at 31 December 2024).
The Group's net assets as at 31 December 2025 was US$370.2 million. The net asset value per ordinary share (excluding non-controlling interests) as at 31 December 2025 was 67.33 US cents as compared to 55.84 US cents as at 31 December 2024.