Samut Sakhon, Thailand-based Thai Union reported an increase in sales and profits in the second quarter of 2024 thanks to continued recovery in demand for a variety of its core product categories, according to the company’s latest results report released 7 August.
Thai Union’s sales in Q2 2024 rose to THB 35.3 billion (USD 990 million, EUR 907 million, which was up 3.6 percent year over year and 6.2 percent quarter over quarter. The company attributed these gains to a recovery in sales of its three core categories: ambient, petcare, and value-added products.
Its sales of ambient seafood increased 1.4 percent year over year to THB 17.4 billion (USD 487.8 million, EUR 446.6 million), fueled by robust demand in the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East.
Petcare sales soared 40.6 percent compared to a year earlier, reaching THB 4.5 billion (USD 125 million, EUR 114.5 million) thanks to a growth in demand in the U.S. and Europe.
Despite a decrease in sales volume, Thai Union’s value-added products also saw a year-over-year sales increase of 15.5 percent to THB 2.6 billion (USD 73.2 million, EUR 67 million) due to higher selling prices.
One of the only categories that struggled in the quarter was Thai Union’s frozen sales, which declined by 5.7 percent year over year to THB 10.8 billion (USD 304.3 million, EUR 278.6 million), driven by lower demand impacted by a rightsizing strategy in the U.S.
“The ongoing recovery of our ambient, petcare and value-added businesses resulted in a strong performance during the second quarter,” Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri said. “Maintaining the solid momentum from the first quarter was particularly pleasing, and I’m confident that after successfully navigating the challenges we faced in 2023, we are on the path toward sustainable growth.”
The recovery in sales of ambient, petcare, and value-added products also helped drive the company’s net profit, which totaled THB 1.2 billion (USD 34.2 million, EUR 31.3 million) in the quarter, up 14.2 percent from its adjusted net profit in Q2 2023. The Q2 profits from last year excluded the share of loss and tax credit from restaurant chain Red Lobster, which declared bankruptcy on 20 May.
Thai Union’s Q2 2024 gross profit surged 13.7 percent year over year to THB 6.5 billion (USD 183.4 million, EUR 168 million), with its gross profit margin (GPM) rising to 18.5 percent in the second quarter from 16.9 percent in the same period last year. The GPM in the quarter reached the second-highest mark in the company’s history and was the highest level in the past 12 quarters.
Thai Union's operating profit showed Q2 growth of 10.6 percent year over year to THB 1.96 billion (USD 55.2 million, EUR 50.5 million), which the company said was just slightly below its “satisfactory level” of THB 2 billion (USD 56 million, EUR 51.4 million).
Notably, Thai Union’s share of profit from its associates and joint ventures jumped 237 percent to THB 179 million (USD 5 million, EUR 4.6 million) during April to June of this year, with the share of profit from Avanti Group in India, which is a joint venture between Thai Union and R&B Food Supply, accounting for 75 percent of the total.
The increase in Thai Union’s share of profit from its associates and joint ventures was also largely due to its ...
