KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): PPB Group Bhd's operating unit The Italian Baker Sdn Bhd, which makes bread under the Massimo brand, is mindful of the entry of prominent new players, which diversified group PPB said have introduced keen competition in the industrial baking scene.

In PPB's latest 2021 annual report, which was filed with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday (April 14, 2022), PPB managing director Lim Soon Huat said that with new players in the industrial baking market, PPB will have to increase its efficiency, control its costs, introduce more unique products, and aggressively expand distribution points and availability to maintain and grow the group's market share in the industrial baking sector.

"The Italian Baker has five production lines producing up to 16,000 bread loaves/hour, 24,000 rolls/hour, 15,000 pieces of cakes/hour, and 6,000 buns/hour. The food processing business comprises two production lines, primarily producing nuggets, burgers, and sausages.

"The Italian Baker generated slightly higher revenue [in financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21)] than the previous year. Although the bread market for FY21 was relatively stable, the entry of prominent new players introduced keen competition in the industrial baking scene," Lim said.

He however did not specify in PPB's annual report the names of the new players in the industrial baking market.

According to PPB's website, the group's diversified businesses include flour milling, property development and cinema operations.

At Bursa on Thursday, PPB's share price closed up four sen or 0.23% to RM17.20, which brings the company's market capitalisation to about RM24.42 billion.

PPB has 1.42 billion outstanding shares, according to its annual report.