Thai Union Group PCL has placed first in six categories in the 17th annual Asia’s Best Managed Companies survey conducted by Hong Kong-based FinanceAsia. This is the second year in a row that it has garnered top honors.
In a poll of 180 portfolio managers and buy-side analysts around the world, the Bangkok-headquartered seafood company scored first collectively as a business organization, while its chief executive and chief financial officers personally received top rankings. In addition, Thai Union was recognized as the most committed company to corporate governance in Thailand and as best in the areas of corporate social responsibility and investor relations.
CEO Thiraphong Chansiri commented: “I am incredibly proud that our efforts have been acknowledged by the investment community. These successes embody how Thai Union is working every day to ensure the company values we embrace are being translated into real and demonstrable change for good.”
Additionally, in 2016, the company was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index (DJSI) for the third consecutive year, as well as named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index, which launched in December last year.
Q1 Net Profit Up, Gross Down
Meanwhile, the company has reported a 19.3 percent year-on-year rise in 2017 first quarter net profit to THB 1,469 million, with a strong contribution from the Red Lobster restaurant chain along with foreign exchange gains. Consolidated sales were THB 31,427 million, up 0.7 percent from the same period last year.
Gross profit declined 13.3 percent from a year earlier to THB 4,330 million, while the gross profit margin was 13.8 percent compared to 16 percent in 1Q16. Higher raw material prices, particularly in the tuna and shrimp sector, along with currency appreciation, contributed to the weaker margin.
Sales contribution from Thai Union’s frozen and chilled seafood business rose to THB 12,914 million, up 5.6 percent over the same period last year, despite continued sluggish demand for ambient products in Europe. In addition, PetCare and value-added product sales grew 17.4 percent year-over-year to THB 4,444 million due to new product launches and continued market penetration improvement.
The sales contributions from Thai Union’s own brands remained stable at 42 percent in the first quarter, with the balance coming from the company’s private label and foodservices sales. The USA remained the largest market with 40.3 percent of total sales in the first quarter, followed by Europe at 31 percent, the Thai domestic market at 8.1 percent, Japan at 6.4 percent and other markets at 14.2 percent.
“We’re pleased with our strong profit growth, despite persistent challenges in raw material costs coupled with variable economic conditions in many markets,” said Chansiri. “Our strategic investment in Red Lobster is already delivering positive results, and we are working together on a number of operational initiatives that will further strengthen their performance.”
