Dairy Farm International Holdings, the operator of supermarkets, drugstores and convenience shops throughout Asia, said 2009 profit rose 9% as it opened stores and consumers spent more on beauty and healthcare products.

Net income for the year to December climbed to US$364 million ($509 million) from US$333 million, the Singapore-listed company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today. Sales including associates rose 4% to US$8.05 billion, it said.

 

“During the year, the group concentrated on maintaining margins in the face of a prolonged economic slowdown,” Chairman Simon Keswick said in the statement. “The group’s core business of selling goods that meet the everyday needs of Asian customers again proved resilient.”

 

Dairy Farm, part of the Jardine Matheson Group, has been expanding in the region to boost its share of the market for basic consumer goods that have proved more resilient to the economic slowdown that followed the global financial crisis. The company, which operates stores under brands that include Wellcome, 7-Eleven and Cold Storage, opened a net 431 stores last year taking its total to 5071, a 9% increase from 2008.

 

The shares rose 1.2% to US$6.17 in Singapore trading before the earnings announcement, boosting the gain this year to 3%.