SET-listed Thai Union Frozen Products Plc (TUF), the world’s largest canned tuna company, expects annual revenue to rise to US$8 billion by 2020 on continuous growth in global food demand.
Founder and Chairman Kraisorn Chansiri says foreign acquisitions like Chicken of the Sea and MWBrands are best for TUF.
Chairman Kraisorn Chansiri said TUF predicts total revenue of $4 billion and $5 billion in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
Last year, TUF posted a 40% increase in turnover to $3 billion. In the first nine months of 2011, TUF’s net profit rose 30% year-on-year to 3.5 billion baht on total revenue of 72 billion baht ($2.4 billion), said Mr. Kraisorn, who has been dubbed the world’s King of Tuna.
Now 77 years old, he has been honored by the Right Livelihood (Summacheep) Foundation as the business person of year for 2011.
The father of TUF president Thiraphong Chansiri set up the business 35 years ago with initial capital of $1 million.
His business empire grew from 150 employees to 30,000 at present. In 1997, TUF joined with Tri-Marine to acquire US-based Chicken of the Sea before gaining 100% of the joint venture in 2001.
Mr. Kraisorn said TUF survived the 1997 financial crisis, which spread out from Thailand, because it had no foreign debt.
“I prefer acquiring foreign companies to having joint venture partners because cultural difference may lead to a problem,†said the chairman, who now plays the role of adviser and strategist while focusing on financial matters for TUF.
Mr. Thiraphong said that without major investment, the company aims for sales growth of 20% this year.
To achieve the 2020 target of $8 billion, TUF will focus its investment on six products: tuna, shrimp, sardines, salmon, squid, ready-to-eat food and cat food.
“We will invest with the capacity that we have in order to minimize potential risk,†Mr. Thiraphong said, adding that the debt-to-equity ratio would be curbed at no more than 1.1.
In mid-2010, TUF acquired France’s MW Brands for 680 million, pushing its D/E ratio to 1.6 before easing to 1.1 now.
But with factories in Seychelles and Ghana, the acquisition paved the way for TUF to export to the European market tariff-free, compared with 24% for products shipped from Thailand.
Shares of TUF closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 63 baht, down one baht, in trade worth 77.62 million baht.
