THAI UNION RELEASE FULL-YEAR RESULTS 2024

Thai Union Release full-year results 2024

Thai Union full-year 2024 sales reach THB 138.4 billion, with net profit of THB 5 billion and gross profit margin of 18.5%

• In 2024, Group sales were THB 138.4 billion, a 1.7% year-on-year increase, driven by organic expansion of Ambient, PetCare and Value-added categories
• Gross profit margin (GPM) improved to 18.5% from 17.1% in FY 2023
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 8.6% year-on[1]year to THB 13.4 billion – the second highest on record – reflecting the improvement in operations
• Net profit was THB 5.0 billion, with earnings per share of THB 1.06, representing a 7.2% year-on[1]year and 10.4% year-on-year increase, respectively. Excluding transformation costs, net profit rose by 22.3% year-on-year to THB 5.7 billion

Thai Union Group PCL reported full-year 2024 sales of THB 138.4 billion with solid organic growth across the core categories Ambient, PetCare and Value[1]added. Net 1.06, growing by 10.4%. With this, Thai Union delivered a second half-year dividend of THB 0.35 per share, bringing the full-year dividend to THB 0.66 per share, representing a payout ratio of  60% and an attractive dividend yield of 5.7%.

Sales showed positive momentum throughout the year, growing 1.7% from a year earlier. The Group booked a gross profit margin of 18.5%, with the highest proportion coming from Ambient  GPM and supported by an improved Frozen GPM following the strategic decision to remove low  margin products, an all-time high PetCare GPM from its strategic focus on high margin products and the temporary effect of inventory accrual reversal.

In 2024, Thai Union launched Strategy 2030, an ambitious plan to drive significant growth and achieve its vision of becoming the world’s leading marine health and nutrition company. Two key transformation initiatives that will support the broader goals of the strategy were launched last year: Project Sonar, which will address critical enablers for Strategy 2030, and Project Tailwind, which focuses on accelerating PetCare growth. As a result, the Group incurred significant transformation costs. Excluding those costs, net profit in 2024 increased by 22.3% year-on-year to THB 5.7 billion.

Thai Union demonstrated strong improvement in profitability ratios and continued to maintain a  strong balance sheet, with net-debt-to-equity ratio remaining healthy at 0.94x. The Group also  generated all-time high free cash flow of THB 11.7 billion due to a healthy EBITDA, which increased 8.6% year-on-year to THB 13.4 billion – the second highest on record – as well as efficient inventory management. These enhanced the Group’s financial flexibility for future investment opportunities.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, sales declined 1.2% year-on-year due to an unfavorable foreign exchange impact of 3.1%, offsetting organic sales growth of 1.9% year-on-year for two consecutive quarters. The gross profit margin stood at 18.7%, reflecting the Group’s solid recovery. Net profit in the fourth quarter declined 18.7% year-on-year to THB 1.2 billion because of higher costs related to Strategy 2030 programs. Excluding transformation costs, net profit grew 1.3% year-on-year to THB 1.5 billion.

“Thai Union’s Ambient, PetCare, and Value-added businesses demonstrated remarkable  resilience in the face of weak global economic growth and more cautious spending among consumers around the world,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, CEO of Thai Union Group. “As we continue to execute our Strategy 2030, I am optimistic that Thai Union will be positioned for long-term, sustainable growth as we pursue an ambitious goal of boosting net sales to US$7.0 billion and doubling EBITDA by 2030.”

Strong demand for Thai Union’s products continued last year, particularly for Ambient and PetCare. Ambient sales grew 7.1% year-on-year to a record THB 68.4 billion because of strong volume growth in the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East. A decline in raw material costs along with healthy sales volumes helped Ambient deliver a gross profit margin of 19.1%. PetCare sales rose 15.5% year-on-year to THB 17.4 billion due to an increase in its premium product mix and higher sales volumes in Europe and China. The gross profit margin for the PetCare segment was 28.5%. Despite the decrease in Frozen sales of 10.7% to THB 42.2 billion from a year earlier following weaker demand and business rightsizing in the U.S., Frozen GPM continued to improve as expected, reaching 11.7%. Lastly, sales in Value-added increased 5.2% year-on-year to THB 10.4 billion.

In terms of geographical diversity, 2024 sales in the U.S. and Canada accounted for 39.4% of total sales, followed by 30.0% from Europe, 11.0% percent from Thailand, and other regions at 19.6%.

In December 2024, Thai Union announced its fourth share repurchase program, in order to reward shareholders by returning excess capital to them and boost earnings per share. The program will not exceed THB 3.0 billion or 200 million shares to be bought between January 2 and June 30. As of February 14, 2025, the total cumulative number of shares repurchased was 107,093,500 million shares.

Thai Union’s continued leadership in sustainability was recognised in late 2024 when the Group was ranked number one in the food products industry on the 2024 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) with a total score of 85 points.

Thai Union has now been ranked number one four times since 2018, reflecting its dedication to sustainable and responsible business practices.

Thai Union was also recognised with an “A” level rating in the Agro & Food Industry category of the SET ESG Ratings by the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

“We will continue to face new challenges in 2025, with ongoing geopolitical tensions, potential impact from changes to U.S. trade policies, and persistent stagnant economic growth,” said Chansiri. “But we are ambitious at Thai Union, and we are building momentum to turn the tides in our favour through Strategy 2030, transforming our business and pursuing our vision to become the world’s leading marine health and nutrition company.”

Main Image ©Thai Union: Thiraphong Chansiri CEO and President, Thai Union