Thai Union’s sales, profit hit all-time highs in Q4 2021

Bangkok, Thailand-based seafood giant Thai Union saw its sales value and net profit both break records in Q4 2021, despite continued losses from its Red Lobster affiliate, according to its Q4 results report, released 23 February.

The company’s sales value between October and December 2021 surged 15.1 year-on-year to THB 38.5 billion (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1 billion), the highest quarterly growth in its history. The growth occurred in most of its core business segments.

Sales of its frozen and chilled seafood rose 21 percent year-on-year thanks to the reopening of the foodservice sector worldwide. Its sales of pet-care and value-added products rose 27.2 percent, driven by strong growth in sales of its existing and new products and its customer portfolio. And its ambient seafood sales increased 4.9 percent from a year earlier as its tuna sales continued to rise, particularly in Asia and Europe. Thai Union’s ambient seafood category includes shelf-stable products including tuna, sardines, salmon, mackerel, and herring, which are largely sold through retail channels and sometimes wholesalers.

Thai Union’s sales value in 2021 also reached a new record at THB 141.1 billion (USD 4.4 billion, EUR 3.8 billion), an increase of 6.5 percent year-on-year, largely attributable to higher sales of frozen and chilled seafood (17.8 percent higher year-on-year) and pet-care and value-added products (up 17.9 percent).

Thai Union earned a net profit of THB 1.93 billion (USD 59.8 million, EUR 52.6 million) in the fourth quarter, up 32.5 percent year-on-year. Its net profit in 2021 was THB 8 billion (USD 247.8 million, EUR 218 million), up 28.3 percent. The growth was attributed to “strong core operations with top line growth, consistently high margin, lower share of loss from associates, and higher FX gains, which helped mitigate the impacts from ongoing supply chain challenges.”

The company’s share of losses from Red Lobster in the fourth quarter reached THB 256 million (USD 7.9 million, EUR 7 million), lower than the THB 321 million (USD 9.9 million, EUR 8.8 million) loss it took in the same period of 2020. The share of losses from Red Lobster also dropped to THB 815 million (USD 25.2 million, EUR 22.2 million) for 2021, down from THB 1.2 billion (USD 36.8 million, EUR 32.4 million) in 2020.

Thai Union said the global spike in freight rates last year cost it nearly THB 1.6 billion (USD 49.5 million, EUR 43.6 million), including THB 900 million (USD 27.9 million, EUR 24.5 million) in the first nine months of 2021 and THB 680 million (USD 21 million, EUR 18.5 million) in the fourth quarter. The company expects rising freight rates and shortage of containers to remain key challenges for it in the first half of 2022. 

Photo courtesy of Thai Union