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Asian Sea is preparing to invest 500-1 billion baht in acquisitions and currently conduct feasibility studies on one or two deals to support growth. The company expects strong growth in the first quarter of this year. The frozen food and pet food businesses have orders steadily pouring in through the middle of the year. They are confident that they will maintain a profit margin of 14-15% this year and achieve sales of 9.5 billion baht, up 8-10%.
Mr. Ekkamol Prasoppolsutcharit, Chief Financial Officer of Asian Sea Corporation Public Company Limited (ASIAN), revealed that the acquisition has a budget of approximately 500-1 billion baht. Currently, feasibility studies are underway for 1-2 projects. We are actively seeking out distributors or agents for product distribution and branding, enabling us to get closer to consumers. We are also looking for production capacity in the dry pet food segment, as we believe that our experience, expertise, and existing customer base will enable us to grow this business.
After Asian Seafood Cold Storage (ASIAN) formed a joint venture with Inter Pharma Co., Ltd. to establish Inter Petrina Co. , Ltd., there has been no further joint venture, but the company is working together to promote the “MARIA” brand to greater prominence in its entry into the pet food business this year. This year, the company has allocated 400 million baht in investment funds. This includes 300 million baht for expanding the pet food production line and improving the efficiency of the frozen food business; 70 million baht for improving production processes and introducing robots; and 30 million baht for developing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and improving the aquatic and frozen food production lines.
Mr. Ekkamol stated that business trends for the first quarter of this year are expected to be better than last year’s, driven by continued demand for frozen fried food, with orders arriving in the second quarter. Similarly, orders for pet food, such as plastic cups and plastic bags, have been received until May. Regarding the baht’s situation in March, it depreciated somewhat, leading to positive performance in the first quarter of this year.
However, the first quarter of each year is the low season for the aquatic and frozen food business, which may see slightly lower sales compared to the previous quarter. However, we are still striving to increase sales. Although the container shortage hasn’t significantly impacted us, it is a factor affecting sales forecasts and earnings projections, and the situation needs to be further assessed. However, customers are still responsible for managing the containers, so it depends on the customer’s level of demand and urgency at each stage.
The company is confident that this year’s targets will be achieved, as production capacity increases continue as planned. While the exchange rate will not significantly impact pet food sales, in the frozen food segment, an excessive appreciation of the baht will not only impact profit margins but also partially impact competitiveness. Raw material procurement plans remain on track. Furthermore, if the COVID-19 situation improves and several countries reopen, our growth in China will return to plan, potentially exceeding our target.
The 2021 target is to maintain a gross profit margin of 14-15%, up from 16.1% the previous year. This is due to monitoring the baht’s exchange rate risk, continued revenue growth in the pet food and aquatic animal feed businesses, increased market share in the aquatic animal feed business, and the positive growth trend of the pet food market, particularly in the US. This year, the company aims for 9.5 billion baht in sales revenue, an 8-10% increase compared to last year. This revenue is driven by the pet food business, which generates 3.6 billion baht (4% growth), the aquatic animal feed business, which generates 1.7 billion baht (26% growth), the frozen food business, which generates 3.2 billion baht (7% growth), and the tuna business, which generates 1.1 billion baht (4% growth).
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