Monday, August 31, 2009

Srithai, PTTCH plan "water lillies"

       SRITHAI'S PROJECTED 2009 REVENUE +5%B5.1bn
       Srithai Superware Plc (SITHAI),Thailand's largest plastic houseware producer is diversifying into products to combat evaporation in collaboration with a foreign innovator and PTT Chemicals,the country's largest olefin maker.
       The fear of water shortages is rising with global warming and the accelerated evaporation of natural water, creating demand for tools to preserve water resources, said Srithai chairman Sanan Angubolkul.
       His company plans to produce "water lillies",which are pro-+5%ducts for preserving ponds invented by an Australian company that Srithai declined to name.
       Research has almost been concluded for the water lilies, which should be commercially available from 2010, he said.
       "Simply speaking, water lilies are plastic modules that the user needs to patch together as a sheet to cover the surface of ponds or reservoirs," said Mr Sanan.
       The water lillies will be made from a special formula of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) created in collaboration with PTTCH to meet the requirement of Srithai and the Australian inventor.
       "We gather knowledge from each other to make something new to meet the new demand. With co-operation, development will be faster and cheaper as we can pool our resources together,"said Mr Sanan.
       The United States and Australia are showing enthusiasm for the product as they are highly concerned about future water shortages, he said.
       But other countries with a tropical climate could also benefit from the new product, Mr Sanan added.
       PTTCH will develop the new HDPE to float while protecting water from heat and controlling water movement and shore erosion.
       The project is expected to get patents
       for its materials and design. But the business model is yet to be established as the project requires huge capital investment.
       Srithai will invest mainly in advance,spending 800 million baht this year and another 400 million next year.
       "We have to focus on technology at a time of economic slowdown. When the global economy returns to normal,we will be more able than our rivals to meet our clients' demands," said Mr Sanan.
       Srithai expects its revenue this year to rise 5% to 5.1 billion baht from 4.92 billion last year due to strong demand in the packaging sector.
       Shares of SITHAI closed yesterday at five baht, unchanged, in trade worth 5.48 million baht, while PTTCH shares were also unchanged at 66 baht in trade worth 202 million baht.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Moong Pattana prepares for MAI listing

       Moong Pattana International, a market leader for maternity and child-care products, will list on the Market for Alternative Investment in early October.
       The company is a distributor of household products under the Japanese Pigeon brand, including cotton buds, sprays and knives. Moong Pattana was founded in January 1981 by Sumeth Lersumitkul,and began trading Pigeon brand products from 1988.
       A total of 30 million new shares with one baht par value will be floated under the offering, with 24 million offered to the general public,2 million to directors,executives and staff and 4 million to company partners. Paid-up capital will increase to 120 million baht.
       Asia Plus Securities is the financial adviser for the offering. Pricing for the IPO will be set later.
       Post-IPO, holdings for the Lersumitkul family will be diluted to 74.69%, with public investors holding 23.33% and employees 1.67%.
       Mr Sumeth, who also is the company's CEO, said funds raised from the offering would be used to finance business expansion and debt repayment.
       Moong Pattana reported first-quarter revenues of 92.4 million baht, up from 87 million in the same period last year.Revenues in 2008 totalled 421.3 million baht, up from 345.2 million the year before. First-quarter net profits rose to 15.2 million baht from 13.7 million a year earlier. Profits in 2008 totalled 53.9 million baht, up from 28.4 million baht during the previous year.
       Mr Sumeth said the company expected to maintain double-digit growth this year.
       The company is also strengthening its sales and marketing teams as well as looking to expand its current sales channels of over 8,000 stores nationwide.
       Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, chief executive officer of Asia Plus Securities, said Moong Pattana International was a leading distributor of consumer products in Thailand, with a nationwide network and decades of experience.
       Dr Kongkiat said new listings this year would be limited to small firms on the secondary MAI, as few large companies are interested in the main board given market and economic uncertainties.
       "We will see a parade of small companies look to list on the exchange until next year. As far as market sentiment,global market will be the main driver going into the end of this year," he said.

Comet wins for Thai designer

       Achic martini glass named "Comet" by young Thai designer Ekarin Khunapinya won the unanimous approval of the judging committee who awarded it first prize in this year's Bombay Sapphire Glass Competition Thailand. The competition was organised by Bombay Sapphire premium gin in cooperation with the Export Promotion Department's Office of Product Value Development for Export.
       As well as a cash prize of 200,000 baht, Ekarin will represent Thailand in the world glass design competition at the London Design Festival in September this year. The judging committee is confident that his creative work will win Thailand the world title once again.Last year, Thai designer Amorn Thongsa-ard won the first prize at the world's competition in London with his "Ramify" glass, thus putting Thailand on the world map of international designer arena.
       This year, Ekarin, a graduate of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lad Krabang now working as a designer at Object & Thinks Design Studio, has high hopes of following in his predecessor's successful footsteps.
       "I chose a comet as my concept in designing the glass, because Bombay Sapphire is an international brand with a unique personality of luxury, glitter dignity and elegance.
       "A comet moves round the sun and looks like a bright star with a tail, and it is very beautiful whenever it appears with its shining light. I designed my glass to be cone-shaped, at an angle of 60 degree from the base so that it looked like a comet. The body of the glass is made of crystal to reflect the light beautifully.
       "I imagined it like a passing comet through the horizontal line of the sky.I intended it to make anyone who holds the glass feel more graceful and more confident.
       To prepare for the world-class competition in London, Ekarin said,"I shall probably modify the design a little bit according to comments from the judges to reflect a clearer concept, and will do my very best to win the first prize for Thailand again."
       This year's first and second runners-up are Apirat Boonruangthaworn with his "Ice Cube" glass, and Saran Youkhongdee with his "Double" glass. Each received a certificate and 20,000 and 10,000 baht cash prize award, respectively.
       The judging committee consists of professionals in the design field, namely ML Kathathong Thongyai, director of the Office of Product Value Development for Export; Supatra Srisook, former assistant director-general of the Department of Export Promotion; Thitipat Supapattranont, chairman of Designs & Objects Association; designer Napapadol Paholayothin; Hataitip Devakul,managing director of T-Positif; and Rungsima Kasigranunt, editor of Elle Decoration magazine.

UNILEVER SECOND-QUARTER PROFIT DOWN 17 PER CENT

       Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jrrry's ice cream, reported yesterday that profit fell 17 per cent in the second quarter as its profit margins eroded amid the economic downturn.
       Net profit at the consumer products giant was euro758 million (Bt37.1 billion) in the quarter, down from euro909 million in the same period a year earlier, while sales rose 1 per cent to euro10.5 billion.
       The sales figure was in line with analysts' expectations.
       Unilever didn't specify why its margins slid, but noted it had spent more money on advertising and suffered from higher commodity costs. Profit was also hit by euro77 million more in pension-related costs than a year earlier.
       "While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions," chief executive Paul Polman said in a statement.
       Sales were up 6.6 per cent in Asia and Africa, now Unilever's largest market, 0.6 per cent in the Americas, but fell 5.1 per cent in Western Europe. Operating profits were up by 18 per cent in Asia, but fell by1 per cent in the Americas and 24 per cent in Western Europe.
       "Unilever is delivering on its promise of a return to volume growth, which has come much quicker than we anticipated," said analyst Richard Withagen of SNS Securities, who has a "reduce" rating the share. He said volume growth hadn't translated to profits due to pricing weakness but "we see this as a solid performance".
       Shares rose 4.3 per cent to euro19.61 in Amsterdam.
       Among product lines, at Univlever's savoury and dressings arm, its largest, sales fell 5.8 per cent and operating profits were down 18 per cent.
       Unilever said its Knorr soups brand had grown well in the Americas and Asia but that sales were down in Western Europe.
       Overall in the US, Unilever said it had capitalised on the move to more in-home eating with successful campaigns behind Hellmann's mayonnaise, Ragu pasta sauces and Bertolli frozen meals.
       Unilever's personal-care arm sales grew by 8.5 per cent and operating profit rose 6 per cent. Unilever said new product launches had helped, such as a new Dove deodorant and the Axe body spray. It also noted good growth for Suave, its value brand in the US. Ice cream and drinks sales rose 3.8 per cent but operating profits fell 8.4 per cent. Unilever didn't say why.

MANY WAYS TO CUT IT

       A century and a quarter after a master cutler set out to supply Swiss soldiers with a survival tool, the iconic Swiss Army knife still adjusts gun sights, cuts cheese and opens cans.
       But deep in Switzerland's Alpine heartland, Karl Elsener's descendants at Victorinox, the last firm that still makes the pocket knives, have been forced to adapt to the urban jungle.
       Apart from the hallmark blades, the corkscrew-originally sold to officers ony-tweezers and screwdrivers, the nowadays 100-strong range includes a "cyber tool" to fix computers, a USB key and a blunt-tiped children's knife.
       Former rival and now subsidiary Wenger added the folding nail clipper to the nail file, while London's Bond Street, New York's Soho and Tokyo's Ginza rival army barracks around the world as outlets.
       Victorinox president Carl Elsener Jr is eyeing a Bluetooth-equipped remote controller for businss presentations, and even finger-print ID to secure data.
       "We always try to be very close to the market and get new ideas," says Elsener, great-grandson of the company's founder.
       Although the modern discourse is imbued with marketign speak, Elsener says the family firm has poured "a lot of soul" into the red tool.
       "The Swiss Army knife became the relieable companion for many expeditions, to the North Pole, the South Pole, in the Amazon, to Mount Everest, even official equipment of the Space Shuttle crews," says Elsener proudly.
       "Presidents have been using the Swiss Army knife as a gift for their visitors to the White House," he adds, also recalling that it was once used to perform an in-flight emergency tracheoto-my high above the Philippines.
       An exhibition at the Swiss National Museum is Schwyz, near the firm's headquarters, retraces the evolution of pocktknives "from tool to icon", revealing the far more rural flavour of the early models.
       Apart from replacing daggers, the European ancestors of the multipurpose tool were designed to saw wood, castrate boar, pluck feathers or sew potato sacks.
       In Italy an ornate small folding blade was dubbed the coltello d'amore-the knife of love-an engagement gift to encourage the future husband to remain faithful.
       Ominously, it was hung above the couple's bed.
       The devout Karl Elsener was motivated by more earthy, practical values and the kind of business acument that seems to run in the family.
       After learnign hsi trade in Switzerland, Franc and Germany, he set up his cutlery and knife workshop in the village of Ibach in 1884.
       The Swiss army wanted to supply conscripts with a knife they could also use to maintain their new refle and open tinned food, somethig of a novelty for army rations at the time.
       Just as his great grandson is today trying to fnd off cheap imitations fromthe Far East, Victorinox's founder was irritated by the military's bid to turn to Germany's steel industry for mass production.
       So he convinced local cutlers to club together and make the knife in Switzerland by 1891.
       "The knife was a bit bulky and heavy so my grandfather decided to develop a lighter more elegant knif with additional functions. One of them, of course, was the corkscrew," Elsener explains.
       The evolved into the officer's knife, patented in 1897, with six functions, the rounded ends and the characteristic Swiss cross on the body. Wenger claims paternity for the flattened sides.
       "The history begins with the soldier's knife for the Swiss army," says exhibition organiser ia Schubiger. "But the cult cvame with the officer's knife."
       US soldiers were responsible for giving the pocket knife wider resonance after World War II. They eventually bought them at army PX stores in Europe and gave them to relatives or fiiends back home.
       "Pronouncing 'schweizer offiziersmesser' was too difficult so they just called ti the Swiss Army knife," says Elsener.
       But the growing diversity of the devce is also down to a battle for economic survival. "Swiss Army" is nowadays a commercial trademark.
       Sales dipped after knives were banned from airliner cabins in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, adding to the pr3ssure from copetition and new multipurpose portable tools.
       "September 11 was our worst moment because practically from one day to the next our outut dropped 30 per cent," said Elsener.
       In 2005 Victorinox took over its last Swiss rival, Weger. The brands still trade independently.
       "We felt it was important because we wanted to prevent a foreign company taking over Wenger an dproducing the Swiss Army knife in the Far East or produce other products that could hurt our brand image," Elener explains.
       More recently the financial and economic crisis has taken its tool, leading to an unspecified drop in sales into the first two months of the year.
       About six million of the picket devices in their umpteen permutations are produced a year, according to Victorinox, on top of a similar number of other tools and kitchen knives, and even branded perfume.
       Nonetheless, some eartheir traditions die hard.
       In February, the Swiss army began to hand otu its new issue knife to soldiers.
       "Ony fro recurits who have just joined," emphasises army spokesman Christoph Brunner.
       Now military green and black, the handle is shaped and designed with a better grip to assist single-handed openig. It can also saw wood and uncap beer bottles.
       But there is still no corkscrew.

Srithai eyes sales of B5bn

       Srithai Superware Plc, the SET-listed melamine tableware and plastics manufacturer, expects sales of 5.1 billion baht this year even though its first half performance was below target.
       President Sanan Angubolkul said sales of Srithai in the first half were 2.2 billion baht, up 5% from the same period last year. However, the sales missed the company's target of 2.55 billion baht because local consumers' purchasing power dropped by 20% as a result of the global downturn. Fortunately, Srithai could offset the impact of the local decline with its export business, which grew by 60%.
       Demand for plastic products in export markets has continued to increase in the second half, said Mr Sanan.
       "China has some problems with product quality, so several firms in Bangladesh and the Philippines have shifted to order big volumes of plastic bottle caps with Srithai recently," he said.
       Moreover, the company received new orders from the Sony Group to produce CD, VCD and DVD holders for Michael Jackson albums.
       With more orders, Srithai plans to spend 100 million baht to expand its production capacity of plastic products to accommodate the rising exports.
       Mr Sanan expects second-half sales of 2.9 billion baht.
       Apart from plastic products, the company will spend 21 million baht to open seven new Lock & Lock flagship outlets in 2009 to 2010, bringing the total to 10.
       Lock & Lock outlets are now at Seacon Square, Esplanade and Fashion Island.
       The company expects to gain about 200 million baht sales from Lock & Lock plastic containers next year, up from 120 million this year.
       Shares of Srithai (SITHAI) closed yesterday on the SET at 4.90 baht, down 4 satang, in trade worth 28,000 baht.