KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 29): Kawan Food Bhd has appointed Adam Pandian as its new chief executive officer, effective from next Monday (Jan 1).

In a bourse filing on Friday, the company said Adam will take on the role, which was left vacant by Ng Hooi Kai, who resigned on Aug 2 this year after serving the role for two years and seven months.

Adam joined Kawan Food in April 2023 as an adviser to the executive chairman and head of transformation.

Adam started his career in Procter & Gamble in brand management, then moved on to several senior positions including the account director for Leo Burnett, regional account director for Saatchi & Saatchi, general manager and commercial director for Keebler, and as managing director for Greater China and Southeast Asia for Kellogg's.

Prior to joining Kawan Food, he held the chief operating officer roles in various divisions within the Hap Seng group, as well as corporate roles within the group managing director office, where he served in change management, business turnarounds and driving group synergy across operating divisions.

He has more than 35 years of management experience in commercial, supply chain and corporate roles, developing and implementing transformation strategies across various industries and organisations with a foundation in fast-moving consumer goods, Kawan Food said.

Kawan Food's earnings has normalised after hitting a new record in the year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), with a net profit of RM38.5 million and revenue of RM293.2 million.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2023, Kawan Food's net profit fell 28.73% to RM21.27 million or 5.94 sen per share, from RM29.85 million a year earlier, despite revenue rising 2.22% to RM225.77 million, from RM220.88 million previously, as cost of sales inched up slightly, coupled with higher expenses as well as income tax recorded.

Shares in Kawan Food settled at RM1.80 each on Friday, down two sen or 1.1%, bringing the company a market capitalisation of RM653 million.

Year-to-date, the stock has fallen 19%.