The diversified food and drinks group, Fraser & Neave, posted a net profit for the year to the end of September of S$241.0m ($136.5m), up 11% on last year. However, the company said that earnings from its brewing joint venture, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), fell by 11% to S$84.9m.

Fraser & Neave has been tipped by analysts to turn in full-year profits in the region of S$232.7m. But F&N reiterated that it was on track to achieve EPS of S$1 for the current financial year. Sales revenues were up 18% to S$3.48 billion on the back of strong beer and property sales. F&N said its soft drink business also performed well.

However, Asia Pacific Breweries, in which F&N owns a 38% stake and Heineken a 42.5% share, saw net profits for the year fall 11% to S$84.9m from S$95.2m last year. Sales revenues rose by 8.3% to S$1.10 billion from S$1.01 billion.

"The fundamentals of the group's business remain sound but the global political and economic environment presents uncertainties in the near term," APB said.