Lower sales, bigger Red Lobster losses ding Thai Union’s Q3 2023 earnings

Thai Union reported a drop in its sales and profits in Q3 2023, with greater losses from chain restaurant Red Lobster particularly affecting the company’s bottom line.

According to Thai Union’s Q3 2023 results, released on 6 November, company-wide sales over the period fell 16.8 percent year over year to THB 33.9 billion (USD 953.3 million, EUR 893 million) from “an extraordinary high baseline” in 2022. The Samut Sakhon, Thailand-headquartered seafood producer said it saw lower sales volumes across all categories and a drop in the average selling price of its products.

After a solid performance in Q2 2023, Thai Union’s Red Lobster restaurant chain posted a Q3 2023 loss of THB 395 million (USD 11.1 million, EUR 10.4 million). That total is a worse performance than the THB 339 million (USD 9.5 million, EUR 8.9 million) the brand lost in Q3 2022. Thai Union mainly attributed these losses to industry challenges such as elevated material and labor costs and high interest rates.

Thai Union had revised Red Lobster’s loss guidance for this year to THB 500 million (USD 14 million, EUR 13.2 million) from its original THB 600 million (USD 16.9 million, EUR 15.8 million) thanks to the chain’s improved results in Q2; however, with the increased losses the brand posted in the third quarter, Red Lobster’s expected year-end loss will likely rise to an adjusted THB 700 million (USD 19.7 million, EUR 18.4 million), the company said.

In an effort to tackle increasing losses, Red Lobster management has enlisted the services …

Photo courtesy of Thai Union