Thai Beverage has reported earnings of 30.1 billion baht ($1.16 billion) for FY2022 ended Sept 30, up 22% over FY2021. Revenue, in the same period, was up 13% to 272.4 billion baht.
The company, whose flagship product is the Chang brand beer, plans to pay a total dividend of 0.6 baht per share for whole of FY2022, up from 0.5 baht paid last year. Both dividend amounts translate into a payout ratio of around 50%.
Thai Beverage attributes the improved numbers to the continued recovery of the Thai economy which includes easing of travel restrictions in Thailand. The reopening of bars, pubs and nightclubs has led to higher consumption of alcohol.
On the other hand, flooding in some parts of Thailand reduced agricultural productivity, tourism activity, and consumer spending. Inflation, rising energy costs and commodity prices have similarly caused a slowdown in domestic private consumption, the company says.
Besides selling beer, the company sells a range of whiskeys and other hard liquor. Thai Beverage’s spirits business reported revenue of 116.2 billion baht, up 1% y-o-y. Earnings, however, dipped by 1.1% y-o-y to 21.9 billion baht on higher raw material and packaging costs.
“To mitigate the impact, the company made appropriate price adjustments,” says Thai Beverage.
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The beer business, meanwhile, enjoyed a 23.5% growth in revenue to 122.5 billion baht. Earnings for this segment surged 143.6% y-o-y to 7.6 billion baht.
The company’s non-alcoholic beverage business did well too, with sales up 14.6% to 17.4 billion baht while earnings increased by 27.8% y-o-y to 586 million baht.
Thai Beverage has a food business too. For the year, this segment recorded sales of 16.4 billion baht, up 45.7% while earnings jumped by 177.1% to 376 million baht.
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The company sells beer and other alcohol in other markets such as Vietnam and Myanmar too. This segment, dubbed the “international business”, recorded a 37% increase in revenue to 78.9 billion baht.
The so-called Beer Co, an entity that Thai Beverage has been wanting to spin off for its separate listing in Singapore, reported earnings of $256 million, up 24.2% over FY2021. Revenue in the same period was 15.2% to $4.8 billion.
The decision to hold the IPO, citing “challenging market conditions”, was announced on Aug 11.
“The company will continue to monitor market conditions, evaluate, and explore opportunities to maximize shareholders’ value, including where appropriate, reviewing the proposed spin-off listing at an appropriate time,” says Thai Bev on Nov 25.
Thai Beverage shares closed at 61 cents on Nov 25, down 0.81% for the day and down 7.58% year to date.
