TTA’s shareholders approved cash dividend payments at 0.54 THB per share, cancelled and reaffirmed 50 million ordinary shares at Baht 1 par for future financial usage, and nominated four directors for another term
An annual cash dividend payment at 0.54 THB per share was approved at the 1/2010 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited (“TTA”) along with the increase of TTA registered share capital for a private placement worth 50 million THB. The meeting also approved the re-appointment of four directors for another term.
M.L. Chandchutha Chandratat, TTA President and Chief Executive Officer, reported that TTA’s shareholders approved cash dividends at 0.54 THB per share to the 708,004,413 shares, worth 382.3 million THB in total value.
“The dividends will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on TTA’s share register book on the Record Date of 8 February 2010. The share register book closing date for collecting shareholders names under Section 225 of the Securities and Exchange Act is scheduled to be 9 February 2010. The final dividend payment shall be made on 23 February 2010,” said the President & Chief Executive Officer.
“The shareholders approved the re-election of Mr. Stephen Fordham, Mrs. Pratana Mongkolkul, Mrs. Joey Horn, and Mr. Terje Schau, as directors for another term as they are highly experienced and competent.”
“It also approved the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers ABAS Limited as TTA’s auditor for the financial year that ended on 30 September 2010 and fix the auditors’ fees at 3.16 million THB,” said President & Chief Executive Officer Chandchutha.
He said the shareholders also approved the capital reduction by cancelling 50,048,452 authorized but un-issued shares at the par value of 1 THB each from the existing registered capital of 933 million THB to be the new registered capital of 883 million THB divided into 883,004,413 shares at the par value of Baht 1 each.
“The shareholders approved an increase of the registered capital of another 50 million THB by an issue of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares at the par value of Baht 1 each from the existing registered capital of 883 million THB to be the new registered capital of 933 million THB divided into 933,004,413 ordinary shares at the par value of 1 THB each,” reported the President & Chief Executive Officer.
“The shareholders had approved the allotment of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares of par value at 1 THB to be reserved for private placement in 1999 and re-confirmed the amount in 2009. TTA has no immediate plan to place the private placement shares in the near future. The allotment of 50 million new shares is to maintain future financial flexibility.”
The shareholders approved the issue of 4,000,000 warrants to directors and employees, including any employee(s) who is also a director, of Mermaid and its subsidiaries, under an ESOP Scheme. “The ESOP Scheme has the goal of increasing the personal stake of such directors and employees in the continued success and growth of Mermaid and motivating them to remain in the service of Mermaid on a long-term basis,” he said.
About TTA
Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited is amongst the top 50 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand with high trading liquidity. Its investment strategy is to grow through a diversified business portfolio of transport, energy, and infrastructure assets, both domestically and internationally. TTA is recognised as a leader in the dry bulk shipping industry. The company has also expanded its investment into other business areas, such as offshore services through Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited, fertilisers and logistics through Baconco Co., Ltd., and coal-related businesses through Merton Group (Cyprus) Limited and Unique Mining Services Public Company Limited.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Global Corporate And Sovereign Rating Actions Hit 23-Year High Of 1,560 In 2009, Article Says
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded 1,298 global issuers and upgraded 262. The 1,560 total rating actions is the most taken in a single year since our series began in 1987, including the previous record high of 1,207 downgrades and 222 upgrades in 2001, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research, titled "Global Corporate And Sovereign Rating Actions: Fourth-Quarter 2009 (Premium)."
Of the rating actions in 2009, 62% were based in the U.S., 16% were based in Europe, 15% were based in the emerging markets, and 8% were based in the other developed region (Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand).
"With the exception of the emerging markets, each region saw their downgrade ratios peak in the first quarter and then taper off before hitting lows for the year in the fourth quarter," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "The emerging markets' downgrade ratio peaked in the second quarter at 97%."
Of the industries that had more than five rating actions globally in 2009, finance companies, automotive, banks, sovereigns, forest products and building materials, capital goods, and media and entertainment all had downgrade ratios of 90% or higher for the year. Health care performed the best in 2009, with a downgrade ratio of only 33%--less than half the average across all sectors.
This article is part of our premium Global Fixed Income Research content, which is available to premium subscribers to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com and to RatingsDirect at www.ratingsdirect.com. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
Of the rating actions in 2009, 62% were based in the U.S., 16% were based in Europe, 15% were based in the emerging markets, and 8% were based in the other developed region (Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand).
"With the exception of the emerging markets, each region saw their downgrade ratios peak in the first quarter and then taper off before hitting lows for the year in the fourth quarter," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "The emerging markets' downgrade ratio peaked in the second quarter at 97%."
Of the industries that had more than five rating actions globally in 2009, finance companies, automotive, banks, sovereigns, forest products and building materials, capital goods, and media and entertainment all had downgrade ratios of 90% or higher for the year. Health care performed the best in 2009, with a downgrade ratio of only 33%--less than half the average across all sectors.
This article is part of our premium Global Fixed Income Research content, which is available to premium subscribers to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com and to RatingsDirect at www.ratingsdirect.com. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
Altegrity Grows, Launches Fourth Business—Altegrity Risk International (ARI)
Altegrity CEO Mike Cherkasky Names Bill Bratton Chairman and Michael Beber President and CEO of New Business That Provides Global Risk Mitigation and Security Solutions
Altegrity, Inc.—the global information, screening, and security solutions provider—has formed a new business, Altegrity Risk International, Inc. (ARI), to provide high-quality due diligence, investigative, analytic, consulting, intelligence, and security solutions to organizations around the world. ARI will help its clients anticipate, prevent, and resolve issues, reduce fraud and loss, and maximize business opportunities.
“Risk has always been a part of our professional and personal lives, but because of the interconnected, global environment in which we live today, risk and security concerns have taken an unfortunate, costly, and at times deadly center stage,” said Mike Cherkasky, Altegrity CEO. “Throughout my career in business and as a former prosecutor, I have learned that information—how efficiently it can be gathered, processed, and analyzed to create a solution—is what often makes the difference between success and failure in both the public and private sectors.”
Mr. Cherkasky continued: “With this as our starting point, we created Altegrity Risk International to provide a quicker, more thorough and inclusive, as well as cost-effective way to provide businesses and organizations with the information and expertise they need to reduce risk and ensure more secure and successful organizations.”
ARI will serve a global community of corporations—as well as financial, legal, investment, non-profit, and government institutions—covering most major business sectors. The company’s multidisciplinary team from the fields of investigations, forensics, data intelligence, financial technology, and security/policing will provide ARI clients with specialized solutions to identify, analyze, prevent, and remediate the entire range of financial, legal/regulatory, reputational and security
risks.
William Bratton, the only person to serve as chief executive of both the New York City and Los Angeles police departments, will serve as ARI chairman. Michael Beber, who has proven success in developing intelligence and risk/data management businesses, will serve as ARI’s president and CEO.
“Right from the start, our clients will identify with our expertise and the quality of our people,” said Mr. Bratton. “We have assembled a team of world-class experts. They come from a wide-range of fields, from investigations, compliance, and forensics to data intelligence and financial technology. ARI’s clients will receive a deeply insightful, multidimensional, and highly evolved view of risk and security solutions so they can take advantage of opportunities and avoid disruptions to their operations.”
“Leveraging advanced technology tools, we are able to provide our clients, no matter whether they are located down the block or anywhere in the world, with better and faster, more thorough, and cost-effective solutions to the specific challenges and risks they face,” said Mr. Beber. “ARI’s tagline was a natural—From Information to Intelligence.SM This well describes the dynamic, smarter solutions we provide to help our clients manage and mitigate risk.”
Headquartered in New York City, ARI provides global coverage through offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The company has a network of consultants, investigators, and specialists around the globe with experience in more than 150 countries. Additionally, as an Altegrity company, ARI has
access to the largest investigative force in the United States, with more than 2,800 well trained and cleared investigators.
ARI provides business and organizational solutions and services in five distinct practice areas:
Decision Intelligence. Business intelligence and due diligence solutions that help clients execute compliance programs and manage the risk inherent in commercial transactions and business relationships.
Investigative & Forensic Services. Information that helps clients manage crises, create opportunities, and mitigate financial and reputational loss.
Legal Risk Solutions. Legal risk assessments, due diligence, electronic data discovery, computer forensics, and witness and asset location, which help clients harness critical information and assess the financial, reputational, and operational risks of pursuing or responding to litigation.
Compliance & Monitoring. Creation and implementation of compliance programs that anticipate and resolve legal and regulatory risks, including independent monitors who can establish and monitor sustainable solutions.
Altegrity Security Consulting. Advice and solutions for operational policing, intelligence, crisis response, and security throughout the world. Customized programs covering the physical security of people, premises, assets, and information.
Altegrity, a global screening and security solutions company headquartered in Falls Church, Va., has nearly 8,000 employees in locations around the world. Altegrity, which is the holding company for USIS, HireRight, Explore Information Services, and Altegrity Risk International, partners with its government and commercial clients to help them Make Decisions Smarter® by uncovering, reviewing, analyzing, and delivering information. Altegrity is the largest commercial provider of background investigations for the government; a global commercial employment background and drug screening supplier to more than 25 percent of the Fortune 500; one of the principal providers of data services to the insurance industry; and a leading provider of high quality due diligence, investigative, analytic, consulting, intelligence, and security solutions to organizations
Altegrity, Inc.—the global information, screening, and security solutions provider—has formed a new business, Altegrity Risk International, Inc. (ARI), to provide high-quality due diligence, investigative, analytic, consulting, intelligence, and security solutions to organizations around the world. ARI will help its clients anticipate, prevent, and resolve issues, reduce fraud and loss, and maximize business opportunities.
“Risk has always been a part of our professional and personal lives, but because of the interconnected, global environment in which we live today, risk and security concerns have taken an unfortunate, costly, and at times deadly center stage,” said Mike Cherkasky, Altegrity CEO. “Throughout my career in business and as a former prosecutor, I have learned that information—how efficiently it can be gathered, processed, and analyzed to create a solution—is what often makes the difference between success and failure in both the public and private sectors.”
Mr. Cherkasky continued: “With this as our starting point, we created Altegrity Risk International to provide a quicker, more thorough and inclusive, as well as cost-effective way to provide businesses and organizations with the information and expertise they need to reduce risk and ensure more secure and successful organizations.”
ARI will serve a global community of corporations—as well as financial, legal, investment, non-profit, and government institutions—covering most major business sectors. The company’s multidisciplinary team from the fields of investigations, forensics, data intelligence, financial technology, and security/policing will provide ARI clients with specialized solutions to identify, analyze, prevent, and remediate the entire range of financial, legal/regulatory, reputational and security
risks.
William Bratton, the only person to serve as chief executive of both the New York City and Los Angeles police departments, will serve as ARI chairman. Michael Beber, who has proven success in developing intelligence and risk/data management businesses, will serve as ARI’s president and CEO.
“Right from the start, our clients will identify with our expertise and the quality of our people,” said Mr. Bratton. “We have assembled a team of world-class experts. They come from a wide-range of fields, from investigations, compliance, and forensics to data intelligence and financial technology. ARI’s clients will receive a deeply insightful, multidimensional, and highly evolved view of risk and security solutions so they can take advantage of opportunities and avoid disruptions to their operations.”
“Leveraging advanced technology tools, we are able to provide our clients, no matter whether they are located down the block or anywhere in the world, with better and faster, more thorough, and cost-effective solutions to the specific challenges and risks they face,” said Mr. Beber. “ARI’s tagline was a natural—From Information to Intelligence.SM This well describes the dynamic, smarter solutions we provide to help our clients manage and mitigate risk.”
Headquartered in New York City, ARI provides global coverage through offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The company has a network of consultants, investigators, and specialists around the globe with experience in more than 150 countries. Additionally, as an Altegrity company, ARI has
access to the largest investigative force in the United States, with more than 2,800 well trained and cleared investigators.
ARI provides business and organizational solutions and services in five distinct practice areas:
Decision Intelligence. Business intelligence and due diligence solutions that help clients execute compliance programs and manage the risk inherent in commercial transactions and business relationships.
Investigative & Forensic Services. Information that helps clients manage crises, create opportunities, and mitigate financial and reputational loss.
Legal Risk Solutions. Legal risk assessments, due diligence, electronic data discovery, computer forensics, and witness and asset location, which help clients harness critical information and assess the financial, reputational, and operational risks of pursuing or responding to litigation.
Compliance & Monitoring. Creation and implementation of compliance programs that anticipate and resolve legal and regulatory risks, including independent monitors who can establish and monitor sustainable solutions.
Altegrity Security Consulting. Advice and solutions for operational policing, intelligence, crisis response, and security throughout the world. Customized programs covering the physical security of people, premises, assets, and information.
Altegrity, a global screening and security solutions company headquartered in Falls Church, Va., has nearly 8,000 employees in locations around the world. Altegrity, which is the holding company for USIS, HireRight, Explore Information Services, and Altegrity Risk International, partners with its government and commercial clients to help them Make Decisions Smarter® by uncovering, reviewing, analyzing, and delivering information. Altegrity is the largest commercial provider of background investigations for the government; a global commercial employment background and drug screening supplier to more than 25 percent of the Fortune 500; one of the principal providers of data services to the insurance industry; and a leading provider of high quality due diligence, investigative, analytic, consulting, intelligence, and security solutions to organizations
Sunday, January 24, 2010
BAFT and IFSA announce merger
The Bankers’ Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) and the International Financial Services Association (IFSA) announced that the two entities have merged, effective today. Members of each respective organization voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger last month. Both BAFT and IFSA bring outstanding pedigree in the world of payments and international trade and finance. Their combination creates the preeminent organization of its kind in the world and will provide the international financial services community with comprehensive representation; broader, deeper expertise; and expanded resources.
BAFT-IFSA will continue to focus both on the broader issues affecting regional and global transactional banking services, such as trade, payments and cross-border financing, and training and operations technology—the crucial inner workings of any organization. Bringing the two entities together under one umbrella gives the combined association increased breadth, depth and influence.
Donna K. Alexander, BAFT president, is now chief executive officer of BAFT-IFSA, while Dan Taylor, IFSA president and CEO, is now president and chief operating officer of BAFT-IFSA.
Alexander noted that the value proposition of the merger for members will include instant access to a wider range of products, services, programs, training, global practices, advocacy opportunities, economies of scale, and future rationalization of membership fees.
“The combined organization yokes the unique strengths of BAFT and IFSA, increasing our ability to grow and expand membership and provide programs and services to a broader global market,” said Alexander. “Members of BAFT-IFSA will benefit from a financially stronger organization with greater influence around the globe.”
Taylor echoed these sentiments, noting that the merger further strengthens existing relationships with regulators and other policy makers.
“The merger takes full advantage of the over 170 years of banking and advocacy experience of the two organizations and expands and integrates the international community around the world.”
For nearly nine decades, BAFT has taken on regional challenges faced by bankers that specialize in international trade and finance, advocated on their behalf and developed business solutions and helped build valuable peer-to-peer relationships. Its regional councils provide insight into markets around the globe, and its information resources increase members’ understanding of developments affecting the industry.
For 85 years, IFSA has met the needs of those who provide, use and support the international operations areas of financial services providers, their customers, suppliers and partners. IFSA has represented the interests of its membership before international rule and lawmaking bodies and has been a key player in the establishment and revision of every significant U.S. or international law or rule governing global financial services.
“We are committed to taking the best of each organization, as well as using the merger as an opportunity to find new ways of approaching issues and providing services,” said Alexander. “No part of either organization or its work will be discontinued.”
BAFT-IFSA will continue to focus both on the broader issues affecting regional and global transactional banking services, such as trade, payments and cross-border financing, and training and operations technology—the crucial inner workings of any organization. Bringing the two entities together under one umbrella gives the combined association increased breadth, depth and influence.
Donna K. Alexander, BAFT president, is now chief executive officer of BAFT-IFSA, while Dan Taylor, IFSA president and CEO, is now president and chief operating officer of BAFT-IFSA.
Alexander noted that the value proposition of the merger for members will include instant access to a wider range of products, services, programs, training, global practices, advocacy opportunities, economies of scale, and future rationalization of membership fees.
“The combined organization yokes the unique strengths of BAFT and IFSA, increasing our ability to grow and expand membership and provide programs and services to a broader global market,” said Alexander. “Members of BAFT-IFSA will benefit from a financially stronger organization with greater influence around the globe.”
Taylor echoed these sentiments, noting that the merger further strengthens existing relationships with regulators and other policy makers.
“The merger takes full advantage of the over 170 years of banking and advocacy experience of the two organizations and expands and integrates the international community around the world.”
For nearly nine decades, BAFT has taken on regional challenges faced by bankers that specialize in international trade and finance, advocated on their behalf and developed business solutions and helped build valuable peer-to-peer relationships. Its regional councils provide insight into markets around the globe, and its information resources increase members’ understanding of developments affecting the industry.
For 85 years, IFSA has met the needs of those who provide, use and support the international operations areas of financial services providers, their customers, suppliers and partners. IFSA has represented the interests of its membership before international rule and lawmaking bodies and has been a key player in the establishment and revision of every significant U.S. or international law or rule governing global financial services.
“We are committed to taking the best of each organization, as well as using the merger as an opportunity to find new ways of approaching issues and providing services,” said Alexander. “No part of either organization or its work will be discontinued.”
IBM OUTLINES VISION FOR 2010, ENABLING SMARTER DECISIONS Bolstering Leadership in Business Analytics and Managed Business Process Services
IBM outlined its vision for 2010 to help businesses make smarter decisions, via leveraging on its leadership in Business Analytics and Managed Business Process Services (MBPS) space. Following the government’s policy in “Creative Thailand,” IBM is consistently developing its organization as an “Employer of Choice” to continuously support Thailand’s education development programs to help create a workforce for the 21st century.
Mr. Thanwa Laohasiriwong, Country General Manager of IBM Thailand Co., Ltd., said that the company expanded its presence in emerging segments last year by offering a comprehensive range of services under the concept of "Building a Smarter Planet” – that is, making the world instrumented, interconnected and intelligent.
IBM’s strategy in 2010 is to help the country develop sustainably and equipping local enterprises, both public and private sectors, with deeper business insights and intelligence through its Business Analytics Optimization and Managed Business Process Services.
“For the intelligent enterprise, the new reality is that personal experience and insight are no longer sufficient. The key for business success in today’s environment is to look for new ways to inject certainty and predictability into their decision making. Meanwhile, the competition does not exist only in the country, but also at the global level. With advanced business analytics technologies to be provided by IBM Global Business Services’ Business Analytics and Optimization line, and skilled resources with knowledge of various industries, IBM can help our customers improve and accelerate their business decision-making process. Several industries can significantly leverage our technologies and services, in the Financial service sectors, for example, business analytics will help them assess customer information and service usage trends, allowing companies to better develop new products and services, increase revenue through up-sell or cross-sell opportunities. Telecom companies have to process millions of subscriber transactions each year. Business analytics systems can transform such information into useful insights and improve decisions on product/service rollouts. This will enable telecom operators to increase average revenue per user,” said Thanwa.
In addition to intelligent technologies, IBM is equipped with professionals in business processes management, to be delivered by the “Managed Business Process Services” (MBPS) team, which will not only help cut costs and improve productivity and efficiency in the long run but also allow companies to focus time and resources on its core business. IBM currently provides MBPS in four areas; Supply Chain Management, Human Resource Management, Financial and Administration, and Customer Relationship Management.
“Though business analytics has been a key focus for most businesses and IT providers this year, IBM is confident of its leadership in this area, due to a comprehensive range of hardware, software and service offerings. IBM has continuously invested in R&D and leverage a worldwide network of industry-specific professionals. As such, IBM is positioned to maintain leadership in the Business Analytics and Managed Business Process Services space and extend the benefits of these technologies to the growing organisations in Thailand,” Thanwa added.
Another key strategy for IBM Thailand this year is to support the government’s policy to boost the economy through the “Creative Thailand” campaign. This is about leveraging intellectual property in developing the economy by combining culture, knowledge base and creativity.
To achieve creative economy, IBM will bring its worldwide experiences to encourage both public and private sectors to transform culture into competitive products and services with intellectual property, equipping Thai youths with creativity and English skills, and developing cities’ infrastructure that can lead to creativity.
Last but not least, IBM will develop and recognize high-performing workforce and transform its organization into “Employer of Choice”. As a globally integrated enterprise, each employee is included in IBM’s global resource pool. IBM will encourage its employees at all levels to enhance their skills and improve their career path to create a workforce for the 21st century, allowing career growth and development, without barriers.
Mr. Thanwa Laohasiriwong, Country General Manager of IBM Thailand Co., Ltd., said that the company expanded its presence in emerging segments last year by offering a comprehensive range of services under the concept of "Building a Smarter Planet” – that is, making the world instrumented, interconnected and intelligent.
IBM’s strategy in 2010 is to help the country develop sustainably and equipping local enterprises, both public and private sectors, with deeper business insights and intelligence through its Business Analytics Optimization and Managed Business Process Services.
“For the intelligent enterprise, the new reality is that personal experience and insight are no longer sufficient. The key for business success in today’s environment is to look for new ways to inject certainty and predictability into their decision making. Meanwhile, the competition does not exist only in the country, but also at the global level. With advanced business analytics technologies to be provided by IBM Global Business Services’ Business Analytics and Optimization line, and skilled resources with knowledge of various industries, IBM can help our customers improve and accelerate their business decision-making process. Several industries can significantly leverage our technologies and services, in the Financial service sectors, for example, business analytics will help them assess customer information and service usage trends, allowing companies to better develop new products and services, increase revenue through up-sell or cross-sell opportunities. Telecom companies have to process millions of subscriber transactions each year. Business analytics systems can transform such information into useful insights and improve decisions on product/service rollouts. This will enable telecom operators to increase average revenue per user,” said Thanwa.
In addition to intelligent technologies, IBM is equipped with professionals in business processes management, to be delivered by the “Managed Business Process Services” (MBPS) team, which will not only help cut costs and improve productivity and efficiency in the long run but also allow companies to focus time and resources on its core business. IBM currently provides MBPS in four areas; Supply Chain Management, Human Resource Management, Financial and Administration, and Customer Relationship Management.
“Though business analytics has been a key focus for most businesses and IT providers this year, IBM is confident of its leadership in this area, due to a comprehensive range of hardware, software and service offerings. IBM has continuously invested in R&D and leverage a worldwide network of industry-specific professionals. As such, IBM is positioned to maintain leadership in the Business Analytics and Managed Business Process Services space and extend the benefits of these technologies to the growing organisations in Thailand,” Thanwa added.
Another key strategy for IBM Thailand this year is to support the government’s policy to boost the economy through the “Creative Thailand” campaign. This is about leveraging intellectual property in developing the economy by combining culture, knowledge base and creativity.
To achieve creative economy, IBM will bring its worldwide experiences to encourage both public and private sectors to transform culture into competitive products and services with intellectual property, equipping Thai youths with creativity and English skills, and developing cities’ infrastructure that can lead to creativity.
Last but not least, IBM will develop and recognize high-performing workforce and transform its organization into “Employer of Choice”. As a globally integrated enterprise, each employee is included in IBM’s global resource pool. IBM will encourage its employees at all levels to enhance their skills and improve their career path to create a workforce for the 21st century, allowing career growth and development, without barriers.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Datamax-O'Neil Acquires Extech Data Systems Division to Expand Its Printer Portfolio and Grow Market Share
The Acquisition Represents the First Step in Datamax-O'Neil's Long-Term External Growth Strategy to Gain Market Share and Strengthen Its Leadership Position in the Global Auto-ID Market by Broadening Its Product Offerings and Global Presence
Datamax-O'Neil, part of Dover Corporation's (NYSE: DOV) Product Identification Platform and global provider of label and receipt printing solutions, has acquired Extech Instruments' Data Systems Division, one of the world's leading developers of portable printers for enterprise-wide applications. Extech Instruments, based in Waltham, Massachusetts is a subsidiary of FLIR Systems. The acquisition expands Datamax-O'Neil's portable printer portfolio, and strategically positions the company to gain market share and significantly grow its global customer base.
"This acquisition is an early example of our goal to distinguish Datamax-O'Neil as the clear leader in the auto-ID marketplace, with the industry's most complete product range and an aggressive plan for global marketshare growth," said Christian Lefort, president of Datamax-O'Neil. "I'm pleased to welcome Extech's portable printing division into Datamax-O'Neil and believe that this addition positions us and our combined channel partners to be more competitive and achieve greater success."
"Datamax-O'Neil has completed its unification and has now begun to implement its long-term strategy for sustained growth," said Omar Kerbage, president and CEO of Dover Corporation's Product Identification Group (PIDG). "The opportunity to better service our customers is now expanded with this acquisition, and I have confidence that the Datamax-O'Neil management team can execute an effective plan that will lead to market leadership with a superior suite of products, unmatched service, and the support and extensive resources available from Dover's PIDG."
Extech Instruments' portable printer division offers a diverse line of thermal and dot matrix portable printers that are sold worldwide through an expansive network of distributors and marketing partners. The division will be fully integrated into Datamax-O'Neil over a four month period, and the printers will be marketed under the Datamax-O'Neil brand. The printers will complement Datamax-O'Neil's premium portable printer portfolio with the addition of a full line of high-value, cost-competitive printers for mobile requirements, including Point-of-Sale (POS), hospitality, route accounting and field service. The printers will appeal to price sensitive applications, and are available in 2, 3 and 4 inch configurations.
About Datamax-O'Neil
Datamax-O'Neil is a trusted global provider of stationary and portable label and receipt printing solution products that enable manufacturing and supply markets to capture the benefits of automated product identification and automated legal and financial transactions. Datamax-O'Neil is the barcode and mobile printing business group of Dover Corporation's Product Identification Group (PIDG), a global platform entity with products and services covering all the leading marking technologies and applications. The company's products address a wide variety of applications, including those in the industrial, healthcare, retail, automotive and ticketing market sectors. Datamax-O'Neil is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and maintains key facilities in California, Illinois, and France, as well as sales and technical support offices around the world.
About Dover's Product Identification Group (PIDG)
Dover Corporation's Product Identification Group (PIDG) is a world class business group with products and services covering all of the leading marking and labeling technologies and applications. PIDG is comprised of two industry leaders --Markem-Imaje and Datamax-O'Neil. The goal of PIDG is to help its customers integrate optimal product identification solutions into their supply chain operations to increase productivity and operating efficiencies. The PIDG is unique in several ways: it provides a global understanding of key account applications throughout the supply chain; a continuously updated global expertise; and worldwide best-in-class service and support.
Datamax-O'Neil, part of Dover Corporation's (NYSE: DOV) Product Identification Platform and global provider of label and receipt printing solutions, has acquired Extech Instruments' Data Systems Division, one of the world's leading developers of portable printers for enterprise-wide applications. Extech Instruments, based in Waltham, Massachusetts is a subsidiary of FLIR Systems. The acquisition expands Datamax-O'Neil's portable printer portfolio, and strategically positions the company to gain market share and significantly grow its global customer base.
"This acquisition is an early example of our goal to distinguish Datamax-O'Neil as the clear leader in the auto-ID marketplace, with the industry's most complete product range and an aggressive plan for global marketshare growth," said Christian Lefort, president of Datamax-O'Neil. "I'm pleased to welcome Extech's portable printing division into Datamax-O'Neil and believe that this addition positions us and our combined channel partners to be more competitive and achieve greater success."
"Datamax-O'Neil has completed its unification and has now begun to implement its long-term strategy for sustained growth," said Omar Kerbage, president and CEO of Dover Corporation's Product Identification Group (PIDG). "The opportunity to better service our customers is now expanded with this acquisition, and I have confidence that the Datamax-O'Neil management team can execute an effective plan that will lead to market leadership with a superior suite of products, unmatched service, and the support and extensive resources available from Dover's PIDG."
Extech Instruments' portable printer division offers a diverse line of thermal and dot matrix portable printers that are sold worldwide through an expansive network of distributors and marketing partners. The division will be fully integrated into Datamax-O'Neil over a four month period, and the printers will be marketed under the Datamax-O'Neil brand. The printers will complement Datamax-O'Neil's premium portable printer portfolio with the addition of a full line of high-value, cost-competitive printers for mobile requirements, including Point-of-Sale (POS), hospitality, route accounting and field service. The printers will appeal to price sensitive applications, and are available in 2, 3 and 4 inch configurations.
About Datamax-O'Neil
Datamax-O'Neil is a trusted global provider of stationary and portable label and receipt printing solution products that enable manufacturing and supply markets to capture the benefits of automated product identification and automated legal and financial transactions. Datamax-O'Neil is the barcode and mobile printing business group of Dover Corporation's Product Identification Group (PIDG), a global platform entity with products and services covering all the leading marking technologies and applications. The company's products address a wide variety of applications, including those in the industrial, healthcare, retail, automotive and ticketing market sectors. Datamax-O'Neil is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and maintains key facilities in California, Illinois, and France, as well as sales and technical support offices around the world.
About Dover's Product Identification Group (PIDG)
Dover Corporation's Product Identification Group (PIDG) is a world class business group with products and services covering all of the leading marking and labeling technologies and applications. PIDG is comprised of two industry leaders --Markem-Imaje and Datamax-O'Neil. The goal of PIDG is to help its customers integrate optimal product identification solutions into their supply chain operations to increase productivity and operating efficiencies. The PIDG is unique in several ways: it provides a global understanding of key account applications throughout the supply chain; a continuously updated global expertise; and worldwide best-in-class service and support.
TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions
TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions
Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, and TeliaSonera, the largest telecoms operator in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, today jointly announced the deployment of the world’s first LTE commercial network in Oslo, Norway. These 4G services offer maximum speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and are approximately 10 times faster than existing 3G networks.
TeliaSonera’s customers will be the first in the world to enjoy simultaneous mobile broadband services such as high definition (HD) video conferencing in mobile environments and a variety of HD video programs via multiple terminal devices; applications that cannot be realized in current 3G networks.
Mr. Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Huawei, we can offer 4G to our customers in Oslo earlier than originally planned.”
As a leading provider of end-to-end 4G/LTE solutions, Huawei delivered both network infrastructures and services to TeliaSonera, such as access network, core network, operation support system, and network planning and optimization. Its field proven fourth-generation base stations and SAE (System Architecture Evolution) solution ensure the stability of the network and enable fast deployment.
Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe, said: “In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to to fully realize economic benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband services.”
To date, Huawei has constructed over 25 LTE commercial and trial networks and has made more than 3,300 LTE/SAE contributions to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
About Huawei
Huawei is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 36 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.
Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, and TeliaSonera, the largest telecoms operator in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, today jointly announced the deployment of the world’s first LTE commercial network in Oslo, Norway. These 4G services offer maximum speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and are approximately 10 times faster than existing 3G networks.
TeliaSonera’s customers will be the first in the world to enjoy simultaneous mobile broadband services such as high definition (HD) video conferencing in mobile environments and a variety of HD video programs via multiple terminal devices; applications that cannot be realized in current 3G networks.
Mr. Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Huawei, we can offer 4G to our customers in Oslo earlier than originally planned.”
As a leading provider of end-to-end 4G/LTE solutions, Huawei delivered both network infrastructures and services to TeliaSonera, such as access network, core network, operation support system, and network planning and optimization. Its field proven fourth-generation base stations and SAE (System Architecture Evolution) solution ensure the stability of the network and enable fast deployment.
Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe, said: “In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to to fully realize economic benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband services.”
To date, Huawei has constructed over 25 LTE commercial and trial networks and has made more than 3,300 LTE/SAE contributions to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
About Huawei
Huawei is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 36 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Currensee Launches Members-Only Marketplace & Rewards Program
Provides Trusted Source for Trade Collaboration and Forex Products and Services
Currensee, Inc. (www.currensee.com), the first Forex trading social network connecting traders from around the world based on real-time trades, today announced the launch of the Currensee Marketplace, the trusted source for Forex products and services available exclusively for members of Currensee. Offerings include training and coaching from Forex experts, professional-level research, e-books, newsletters, and trading tools from industry leaders such as Candlecharts.com, The Hansen Finance Group, FX Tech Strategy, and many others.
Currensee brings trust and transparency to Forex trading collaboration by sharing real-time information on the actual trades its members are making. The Currensee Marketplace introduces a new way for Forex traders to connect with reputable products and services and gives members the comfort of knowing they are buying from a reliable source. The Marketplace also provides Currensee partners the opportunity to offer their professional products and services to the trader network. The revenue generated in the Marketplace creates an additional revenue stream for Currensee and supports the continued offering of free trade collaboration and membership in the Currensee trader network.
"I am very excited to be working with Currensee," said Toni Hansen, CEO and President of the Hansen Finance Group and Trading From Main Street. "I've had many clients over the years ask me to recommend a community where they can share their knowledge and learn from other traders, all while easily seeing and evaluating the performance of the members of that network. Currensee is the only site I have ever come across that provides such a pure form of social networking for traders online. The innovative potential Currensee offers those in the Forex industry for connecting on both a personal and business level is impressive."
The Marketplace is powered by Currensee Bucks, a unique rewards program, which gives members the opportunity to earn "Bucks" by actively participating in the trader network. Members earn Bucks for activities like inviting friends to join, creating discussions and polls, and linking new accounts. They also earn recurring Bucks on trading activity when they make Currensee their Introducing Broker. Once a member has a Bucks balance, they can redeem their Bucks to purchase any of the products and services available in the Marketplace. Members also earn additional Bucks rewards every time they make a purchase in the Marketplace. As a special launch promotion, Currensee is offering 30 Bucks to any member who joins by visiting www.currensee.com/bonusbucks by November 30, 2009. Bonus Bucks can be used in the Marketplace through December 30, 2009.
Retail Forex traders take their trading seriously and are constantly looking for ways to improve their knowledge and skills by purchasing Forex-related items. According to a February 2009 New York Traders Expo survey, excluding commissions, one-fifth of attendees spend more than $200 per month on trading services (such as feeds, software, chat rooms, newsletters, mentoring), and over one-third spend $50-200 monthly.
"The Marketplace is the trusted source for Forex traders who are looking for reliable products and services to incorporate in their trading experience," said Dave Lemont, CEO of Currensee. "Traders are always asking us for recommendations, and we created the Currensee Marketplace connect our traders with reputable Forex-related products and services. We are excited to give back to our traders in the form of Bucks rewards, and our Marketplace is an exciting step for Currensee and our members."
About Currensee
Currensee brings trust and transparency to retail Forex trading. The Currensee social trading network connects retail Forex traders from around the world, so they can share and collaborate on actual trading information in real-time. The unique Currensee social indicators aggregate the wisdom of the network and provide a new approach to Forex market analysis and trade decision-making. Currensee supports a wide variety of Forex brokers and education partners and is a member of the National Futures Association. Currensee is funded by North Bridge Venture Partners, and the company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit us at www.currensee.com.
Currensee, Inc. (www.currensee.com), the first Forex trading social network connecting traders from around the world based on real-time trades, today announced the launch of the Currensee Marketplace, the trusted source for Forex products and services available exclusively for members of Currensee. Offerings include training and coaching from Forex experts, professional-level research, e-books, newsletters, and trading tools from industry leaders such as Candlecharts.com, The Hansen Finance Group, FX Tech Strategy, and many others.
Currensee brings trust and transparency to Forex trading collaboration by sharing real-time information on the actual trades its members are making. The Currensee Marketplace introduces a new way for Forex traders to connect with reputable products and services and gives members the comfort of knowing they are buying from a reliable source. The Marketplace also provides Currensee partners the opportunity to offer their professional products and services to the trader network. The revenue generated in the Marketplace creates an additional revenue stream for Currensee and supports the continued offering of free trade collaboration and membership in the Currensee trader network.
"I am very excited to be working with Currensee," said Toni Hansen, CEO and President of the Hansen Finance Group and Trading From Main Street. "I've had many clients over the years ask me to recommend a community where they can share their knowledge and learn from other traders, all while easily seeing and evaluating the performance of the members of that network. Currensee is the only site I have ever come across that provides such a pure form of social networking for traders online. The innovative potential Currensee offers those in the Forex industry for connecting on both a personal and business level is impressive."
The Marketplace is powered by Currensee Bucks, a unique rewards program, which gives members the opportunity to earn "Bucks" by actively participating in the trader network. Members earn Bucks for activities like inviting friends to join, creating discussions and polls, and linking new accounts. They also earn recurring Bucks on trading activity when they make Currensee their Introducing Broker. Once a member has a Bucks balance, they can redeem their Bucks to purchase any of the products and services available in the Marketplace. Members also earn additional Bucks rewards every time they make a purchase in the Marketplace. As a special launch promotion, Currensee is offering 30 Bucks to any member who joins by visiting www.currensee.com/bonusbucks by November 30, 2009. Bonus Bucks can be used in the Marketplace through December 30, 2009.
Retail Forex traders take their trading seriously and are constantly looking for ways to improve their knowledge and skills by purchasing Forex-related items. According to a February 2009 New York Traders Expo survey, excluding commissions, one-fifth of attendees spend more than $200 per month on trading services (such as feeds, software, chat rooms, newsletters, mentoring), and over one-third spend $50-200 monthly.
"The Marketplace is the trusted source for Forex traders who are looking for reliable products and services to incorporate in their trading experience," said Dave Lemont, CEO of Currensee. "Traders are always asking us for recommendations, and we created the Currensee Marketplace connect our traders with reputable Forex-related products and services. We are excited to give back to our traders in the form of Bucks rewards, and our Marketplace is an exciting step for Currensee and our members."
About Currensee
Currensee brings trust and transparency to retail Forex trading. The Currensee social trading network connects retail Forex traders from around the world, so they can share and collaborate on actual trading information in real-time. The unique Currensee social indicators aggregate the wisdom of the network and provide a new approach to Forex market analysis and trade decision-making. Currensee supports a wide variety of Forex brokers and education partners and is a member of the National Futures Association. Currensee is funded by North Bridge Venture Partners, and the company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit us at www.currensee.com.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
CPF to cut back on farming in 5-year plan
Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF),the SET-listed flagship of Charoen Pokphand Group, has mapped out a fiveyear business restructuring plan to reduce its dependence on farm business.
"The bird flu outbreaks in 2004 largely affected our poultry farms, forcing us to revise our business model," said Adirek Sripatak, CPF's president and chief executive officer.
Over the next five years, CPF's core businesses will engage in three main industries: feed, food, and farming. The company will equally weight the industries to avoid possible business risks,he said.
The restructure aims to increase revenue from the food sector to 30-33% of the total from 18% at present. Animal feed already generates 35% which would be maintained.
Farming revenue, particularly from chicken and duck farms, would be pared from 47% to one-third as well. Sales from this sector stood at 156.23 billion baht in 2008.
Mr Adirek said CPF would outsource products from certified contracted farms instead, which would also prevent risk from fluctuating world commodities prices.
Mr Adirek revealed last year he wanted to remodel CPF to emulate ConAgra, one the largest packaged-food companies in the US, and said its 8-billion-baht animal and farm complex in Nakhon Ratchasima would be its last production hub.
Revenue from the food sector has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to brand-building efforts and new products.
Ready-to-eat items such as shrimp wonton soup have increased sales to 32 billion baht this year.
Mr Adirek said that next year CPF planned to invest 4 billion baht locally and overseas.
US$30 million is set for the pig business in Russia, and $65 million is to build shrimp- and aqua-feed manufacturing plants in the Philippines.
In Thailand, the investment will focus on the expansion of its distribution shop, CP Fresh Mart, which has over 500 outlets, as well as building more shrimp wonton production plants.
CPF projects the investment will drive its sales to 160 billion baht this year despite the strong baht, as the company leveraged imports and exports and hedged the exchange rate to prevent risk.
CPF reported third-quarter net profit of 4.116 billion baht, up 50.8% from 2.728 billion year-on-year. Its ninemonth net profit was 8.08 billion baht.
CPF shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 9.70 baht,down 10 satang, in trade worth 656.2 million baht.
"The bird flu outbreaks in 2004 largely affected our poultry farms, forcing us to revise our business model," said Adirek Sripatak, CPF's president and chief executive officer.
Over the next five years, CPF's core businesses will engage in three main industries: feed, food, and farming. The company will equally weight the industries to avoid possible business risks,he said.
The restructure aims to increase revenue from the food sector to 30-33% of the total from 18% at present. Animal feed already generates 35% which would be maintained.
Farming revenue, particularly from chicken and duck farms, would be pared from 47% to one-third as well. Sales from this sector stood at 156.23 billion baht in 2008.
Mr Adirek said CPF would outsource products from certified contracted farms instead, which would also prevent risk from fluctuating world commodities prices.
Mr Adirek revealed last year he wanted to remodel CPF to emulate ConAgra, one the largest packaged-food companies in the US, and said its 8-billion-baht animal and farm complex in Nakhon Ratchasima would be its last production hub.
Revenue from the food sector has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to brand-building efforts and new products.
Ready-to-eat items such as shrimp wonton soup have increased sales to 32 billion baht this year.
Mr Adirek said that next year CPF planned to invest 4 billion baht locally and overseas.
US$30 million is set for the pig business in Russia, and $65 million is to build shrimp- and aqua-feed manufacturing plants in the Philippines.
In Thailand, the investment will focus on the expansion of its distribution shop, CP Fresh Mart, which has over 500 outlets, as well as building more shrimp wonton production plants.
CPF projects the investment will drive its sales to 160 billion baht this year despite the strong baht, as the company leveraged imports and exports and hedged the exchange rate to prevent risk.
CPF reported third-quarter net profit of 4.116 billion baht, up 50.8% from 2.728 billion year-on-year. Its ninemonth net profit was 8.08 billion baht.
CPF shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 9.70 baht,down 10 satang, in trade worth 656.2 million baht.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Loxley counts on synergy
Trading firm Loxley will be expanding its retail arm by capitalising on its 12,000 two- and three-digit online lottery kiosks to double its yearly earnings of Bt5 billion to Bt10 billion in 2014.
Loxley's executive vice president Suraphand Bhasitnirandr said yesterday the company saw a great business opportunity in expanding its retail business through its existing online lottery kiosks nationwide.
The firm currently distributes 20 consumer product brands, and believes its 10 to 15 per cent average growth in the consumer segment can be boosted further if products could be sold via its online lottery kiosks.
It has also developed a model to help lottery operators sell its products, and expects at least 20 to 30 per cent of the 3,000 lottery sellers to jump at the chance.
The company distributes products including cooking oil, UHT milk, snacks, canned tuna to name a few.
The company has four business units, namely trading, technology, service and joint ventures. Loxley's trading arm has contributed 45 per cent of its total sales of Bt10 billion.
Loxley's executive vice president Suraphand Bhasitnirandr said yesterday the company saw a great business opportunity in expanding its retail business through its existing online lottery kiosks nationwide.
The firm currently distributes 20 consumer product brands, and believes its 10 to 15 per cent average growth in the consumer segment can be boosted further if products could be sold via its online lottery kiosks.
It has also developed a model to help lottery operators sell its products, and expects at least 20 to 30 per cent of the 3,000 lottery sellers to jump at the chance.
The company distributes products including cooking oil, UHT milk, snacks, canned tuna to name a few.
The company has four business units, namely trading, technology, service and joint ventures. Loxley's trading arm has contributed 45 per cent of its total sales of Bt10 billion.
Unilever pays $1.8bn for Sara Lee brands
The consumer goods giant Unilever agreed yesterday to pay 1.275 billion ($1.87 billion) for Sara Lee's personal-care brands like Sanex and Radox to reinforce its global lead in deodorants and skin cleansing.
The Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc/NV is buying a business with 85% of its sales in Europe, while Sara Lee will now look to sell its household goods business separately as it launched a $1 billion share buyback programme.
The deal marks the first major acquisition for Unilever's new chief executive Paul Polman, while Sara Lee's CEO Brenda Barnes is now half-way through a planned sell-off of non-core business aimed at focusing the US group on food and drink.
"The Sara Lee brands enjoy strong consumer recognition, offer significant growth potential and are an excellent fit with Unilever's existing business," said Polman in a statement.
Unilever says Sanex, Radox and also Duschdas brands will complement its Dove, Axe and Rexona at slightly lower prices and strengthen its European business in key markets such as Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain,Italy and Denmark.
Sara Lee said the brands sold accounted for 55% of the profits from its businesses up for sale, and added it had seen significant interest in its household brands including Ambi Pur air fresheners,Kiwi shoe polish, Vapona insecticides and its non-European cleaning brands.
"We intend to use proceeds from the divestiture to invest for growth in our core business and to repurchase stock,"Barnes said in a Sara Lee statement.
The US group also reiterated that it intended to maintain its current quarterly dividend of 11 cents for the next four quarters regardless of the timing of disposals.
Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills said the price Unilever was paying of 10 times core operating profit, or EBITDA,"is not huge by industry standards which reflects the fairly disparate collection of assets which also include Brylcream hair gel.
"We're not convinced that this is the greatest collection of assets but another acquisition shows Unilever still moving from the back foot (cost cutting and disposals) to the front foot (volume growth and acquisitions)," he said.
Sara Lee put its household and personal-care business up for sale earlier this year, and it was expected by analysts to break up the wide-ranging business to make a sell-off easier.
The Sara Lee brands being acquired by Unilever generated annual sales in excess of 750 million with EBITDA of 128 million for the year ending June 2009. The overall Sara Lee business up for sale had annual sales of 1.5 billion.The deal is subject to regulatory approval and consultation with European employee works councils.
The Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc/NV is buying a business with 85% of its sales in Europe, while Sara Lee will now look to sell its household goods business separately as it launched a $1 billion share buyback programme.
The deal marks the first major acquisition for Unilever's new chief executive Paul Polman, while Sara Lee's CEO Brenda Barnes is now half-way through a planned sell-off of non-core business aimed at focusing the US group on food and drink.
"The Sara Lee brands enjoy strong consumer recognition, offer significant growth potential and are an excellent fit with Unilever's existing business," said Polman in a statement.
Unilever says Sanex, Radox and also Duschdas brands will complement its Dove, Axe and Rexona at slightly lower prices and strengthen its European business in key markets such as Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain,Italy and Denmark.
Sara Lee said the brands sold accounted for 55% of the profits from its businesses up for sale, and added it had seen significant interest in its household brands including Ambi Pur air fresheners,Kiwi shoe polish, Vapona insecticides and its non-European cleaning brands.
"We intend to use proceeds from the divestiture to invest for growth in our core business and to repurchase stock,"Barnes said in a Sara Lee statement.
The US group also reiterated that it intended to maintain its current quarterly dividend of 11 cents for the next four quarters regardless of the timing of disposals.
Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills said the price Unilever was paying of 10 times core operating profit, or EBITDA,"is not huge by industry standards which reflects the fairly disparate collection of assets which also include Brylcream hair gel.
"We're not convinced that this is the greatest collection of assets but another acquisition shows Unilever still moving from the back foot (cost cutting and disposals) to the front foot (volume growth and acquisitions)," he said.
Sara Lee put its household and personal-care business up for sale earlier this year, and it was expected by analysts to break up the wide-ranging business to make a sell-off easier.
The Sara Lee brands being acquired by Unilever generated annual sales in excess of 750 million with EBITDA of 128 million for the year ending June 2009. The overall Sara Lee business up for sale had annual sales of 1.5 billion.The deal is subject to regulatory approval and consultation with European employee works councils.
Betagro to sell green products
Betagro Group, one of Thailand's leading food producers and exporters, has enhanced its green profile by forming a partnership to market energy-saving products for the livestock industry in local and export markets.
B. International and Technology Co,a unit of Betagro, yesterday entered an agreement to exclusively distribute Kooling Max, a liquid product from Earth Concept Co, a Thai manufacturer and distributor of natural cleaning materials.
Used with a cooling pad in the ventilation system at livestock farms, Kooling Max lowers temperatures, thereby cutting water consumption, electricity bills and animal mortality, said Cherdchai Sinsarng, general manager of B. International and Technology Co.
"At an experimental test, the capacity would bring down operating costs for chicken by 0.50 baht per kilogramme,or 2% to 3% over about six weeks of raising," he said.
B. International plans to sell about 20,000 litres of Kooling Max next year to earn about 15 million baht in revenue.
Although this is a minor contribution to the company's expected revenue of more than 300 million baht this year, B.International sees good prospects for the product from the strong growth in the livestock industry in Thailand and many Asian countries.
The company plans to tap this growth by distributing the product abroad together with other farm product ranges,such as ventilation controllers, cooling pads and silo weighing scales.
Many Asian countries have made substantial investments in livestock businesses to meet growing domestic and export demand, said Nopporn Vayuchote, Betagro Group's executive vicepresident.
Neighbouring countries' many recent investments in raising chicken and swine feature advanced equipment and technologies - especially in Vietnam, where Indonesian investors have set up a giant modern pig farm business, he said.
Kooling Max will reduce energy use in line with a green marketing concept and conform with international rules on animal welfare, he said.
The product has been warmly welcomed by big farm operators including Charoen Pokphand Group, and the resulting energy savings would raise the competitiveness of the Thai livestock industry, he said.
Betagro Group expects its sales this year to increase to 50 billion baht from 45 billion in 2008.
The company plans to inject about 3 billion baht next year into projects including setting up more Betagro Shop outlets, due to reach 50 stores by the year-end, and new investments in readyto-eat food.
B. International and Technology Co,a unit of Betagro, yesterday entered an agreement to exclusively distribute Kooling Max, a liquid product from Earth Concept Co, a Thai manufacturer and distributor of natural cleaning materials.
Used with a cooling pad in the ventilation system at livestock farms, Kooling Max lowers temperatures, thereby cutting water consumption, electricity bills and animal mortality, said Cherdchai Sinsarng, general manager of B. International and Technology Co.
"At an experimental test, the capacity would bring down operating costs for chicken by 0.50 baht per kilogramme,or 2% to 3% over about six weeks of raising," he said.
B. International plans to sell about 20,000 litres of Kooling Max next year to earn about 15 million baht in revenue.
Although this is a minor contribution to the company's expected revenue of more than 300 million baht this year, B.International sees good prospects for the product from the strong growth in the livestock industry in Thailand and many Asian countries.
The company plans to tap this growth by distributing the product abroad together with other farm product ranges,such as ventilation controllers, cooling pads and silo weighing scales.
Many Asian countries have made substantial investments in livestock businesses to meet growing domestic and export demand, said Nopporn Vayuchote, Betagro Group's executive vicepresident.
Neighbouring countries' many recent investments in raising chicken and swine feature advanced equipment and technologies - especially in Vietnam, where Indonesian investors have set up a giant modern pig farm business, he said.
Kooling Max will reduce energy use in line with a green marketing concept and conform with international rules on animal welfare, he said.
The product has been warmly welcomed by big farm operators including Charoen Pokphand Group, and the resulting energy savings would raise the competitiveness of the Thai livestock industry, he said.
Betagro Group expects its sales this year to increase to 50 billion baht from 45 billion in 2008.
The company plans to inject about 3 billion baht next year into projects including setting up more Betagro Shop outlets, due to reach 50 stores by the year-end, and new investments in readyto-eat food.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
BETAGRO GAINS FROM ITS BQM PROGRAMME
The Betagro Group, the country's leading integrated agribusiness enterprise, is set to benefit from Bt100 million in annual cost reductions, thanks to the Betagro Quality Management quality-control programme launched a year ago.
The group has also received 100-per-cent repeat orders from its trading partners. Prices for its export products are quoted 30-per-cent higher than the market price, and stocks at port destinations have dropped significantly, thank to increasing demand.
BQM, which enables complete quality testing, is part of the group's efforts to become one of the top manufacturers of safe consumer foods through its full compliance with all international standards and ability for its products to be tracked 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This unique standard of quality control, also called BQM 24/7, will be showcased this weekend when the group attends the world's most important food and beverage fair - Anuga, in Cologne, Germany.
Chief operations officer Vasit Taepaisitphongse said the group would extend the BQM method to its local trading partners, so that they can improve their own operations.
"Our BQM standard will assure customers about our food safety and help us achieve our three-year target of 15-per-cent annual growth on average," Vasit said.
He said the group formulated its unique quality-control system in the face of rising quality requirements from importers, particularly supercentre giants like Tesco.
"Each customer has its own specific standards, so we wanted our standards to surpass anyone's requirements," he said, adding that the group's cost reduction would also help its bottom line.
Executive vice president Suthep Tirapipattanakul agreed BQM had helped the company reduce costs, including by reducing product rejects from 1 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
BQM has also encouraged the group to focus more on premium products, which now accounts for 75 per cent of its production. Plans are afoot to produce only premium products in the near future.
The programme has been successfully applied in its chicken farm and all processing lines. Next up will be its swine operations, with full implementation expected by next year.
Sanon Liawpairoj, commercial director for poultry, said the group's chicken exports reached 33,000 tonnes in the first nine moths of the year, against a full-year target of 46,000 tonnes. Export volume will increase to 55,000 tonnes next year.
The group exports to the European Union (55 per cent) and Japan (45 per cent).
Vasit said the group had targeted revenue growth of 10 per cent next year, to Bt55 billion.
The group has also received 100-per-cent repeat orders from its trading partners. Prices for its export products are quoted 30-per-cent higher than the market price, and stocks at port destinations have dropped significantly, thank to increasing demand.
BQM, which enables complete quality testing, is part of the group's efforts to become one of the top manufacturers of safe consumer foods through its full compliance with all international standards and ability for its products to be tracked 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This unique standard of quality control, also called BQM 24/7, will be showcased this weekend when the group attends the world's most important food and beverage fair - Anuga, in Cologne, Germany.
Chief operations officer Vasit Taepaisitphongse said the group would extend the BQM method to its local trading partners, so that they can improve their own operations.
"Our BQM standard will assure customers about our food safety and help us achieve our three-year target of 15-per-cent annual growth on average," Vasit said.
He said the group formulated its unique quality-control system in the face of rising quality requirements from importers, particularly supercentre giants like Tesco.
"Each customer has its own specific standards, so we wanted our standards to surpass anyone's requirements," he said, adding that the group's cost reduction would also help its bottom line.
Executive vice president Suthep Tirapipattanakul agreed BQM had helped the company reduce costs, including by reducing product rejects from 1 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
BQM has also encouraged the group to focus more on premium products, which now accounts for 75 per cent of its production. Plans are afoot to produce only premium products in the near future.
The programme has been successfully applied in its chicken farm and all processing lines. Next up will be its swine operations, with full implementation expected by next year.
Sanon Liawpairoj, commercial director for poultry, said the group's chicken exports reached 33,000 tonnes in the first nine moths of the year, against a full-year target of 46,000 tonnes. Export volume will increase to 55,000 tonnes next year.
The group exports to the European Union (55 per cent) and Japan (45 per cent).
Vasit said the group had targeted revenue growth of 10 per cent next year, to Bt55 billion.
Monday, September 28, 2009
DIETHELM BUILDS ON LEGO TOY SUCCESS
Diethelm, the distributor of Lego building bricks and mini-figures, expects its sales value to grow more than 15 per cent next year as it cashes in on higher demand for educational toys.
Chukiat Tokamolthum, a department manager, said parents were more willing to pay for such toys, which pushes the segment's growth rate beyond others in the industry.
The economic slowdown has affected the overall Thai toy market, whose value will be unchanged at Bt10 billion this year. However, the educational toy segment has shown growth, he said.
"Parents believe educational toys will enhance the mental and physical growth of their children," he added.
Educational toys are in the premium segment, for which annual sales are about Bt1 billion. Lego has a 15-per-cent share of the premium market, while the overall educational toy share in the segment is expected to rise from 35 per cent last year to 45 per cent this year.
He said Lego had witnessed 10-per-cent sales growth in the first eight month, but the annualised growth rate would be 15 per cent.
"The growth of Lego in Thailand has reflected consumer's behaviour. They now realise that Lego is a brand of toy that helps improve children's skills. This is the same trend in developed countries in Europe," he added.
Chukiat said that unlike educational toys, other products in the premium segment faced a reduction in sales. The share of boys' toy has fallen to 25 per cent from 35 per cent last year, while that of toys from China has decreased to 5 per cent from 10 per cent.
The trend has convinced Diethelm that sales growth will be no less than 15 per cent this year, despite negative factors such as political turmoil, the economic crisis and the H1N1 flu.
Diethelm allocated Bt20 million this year for marketing activities to boost sales and brand awareness.
Chukiat Tokamolthum, a department manager, said parents were more willing to pay for such toys, which pushes the segment's growth rate beyond others in the industry.
The economic slowdown has affected the overall Thai toy market, whose value will be unchanged at Bt10 billion this year. However, the educational toy segment has shown growth, he said.
"Parents believe educational toys will enhance the mental and physical growth of their children," he added.
Educational toys are in the premium segment, for which annual sales are about Bt1 billion. Lego has a 15-per-cent share of the premium market, while the overall educational toy share in the segment is expected to rise from 35 per cent last year to 45 per cent this year.
He said Lego had witnessed 10-per-cent sales growth in the first eight month, but the annualised growth rate would be 15 per cent.
"The growth of Lego in Thailand has reflected consumer's behaviour. They now realise that Lego is a brand of toy that helps improve children's skills. This is the same trend in developed countries in Europe," he added.
Chukiat said that unlike educational toys, other products in the premium segment faced a reduction in sales. The share of boys' toy has fallen to 25 per cent from 35 per cent last year, while that of toys from China has decreased to 5 per cent from 10 per cent.
The trend has convinced Diethelm that sales growth will be no less than 15 per cent this year, despite negative factors such as political turmoil, the economic crisis and the H1N1 flu.
Diethelm allocated Bt20 million this year for marketing activities to boost sales and brand awareness.
CP brings village model to China
Charoen Pokphand Group plans to develop three integrated poultry layer farms in selected villages in China where it will likely apply its successful agricultural village management model, especially that of Nong Wah village in Thailand.
The Thai conglomerate entered into a contract with Beijing two years ago to help modernise China's farm sector and promote integrated farming businesses there.
CP Group chairman Dhanin Chearavanont said the group planned to raise about 3 million layers in each integrated egg-laying farm. Each site would also have a chicken-feed production plant and a processing plant for higher-value egg-based products such as powdered and liquid eggs for the food industry.Chicken manure would be used as fertiliser.
"Other necessary facilities will include conveyors to load eggs from farms to processing units to avoid human handling of the products," he said. He did not give specific locations and investment capital involved.
CP Group, Thailand's largest agribusiness group, was the first foreign investor in China. It has invested billions of dollars over three decades in several ventures including shopping malls, the poultry industry, animal feed and motorcycle plants.
Its successful farm operations attracted attention from Chinese officials, who are promoting a programme worth 100 billion renminbi involving four parties:farmers, CP, the China Development Bank and Chinese authorities, CP vicechairman Thanakorn Seriburi said recently.
The programme is to be carried out in some villages in Anhui, Shanxi, Henan,Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Jilin provinces.
Over the past two years, a number of delegations of Chinese authorities have visited farm villages supported by CP,and the Nong Wah agricultural village in Chachoengsao has become an impressive prototype, according to another CP executive.
The Nong Wah project was initiated 30 years ago by Bangkok Bank, CP and the villagers. Each villager was allocated 24 rai, a house, pig breeders and proper facilities to raise pigs with guidance from the company, while bank staff helped train them to manage finances effectively.
After 30 years, villagers were able to repay debts and run the village on their own under the Nong Wah Agricultural Village Company.
According to Mr Dhanin, CP has no plan for further investments in poultry farms, especially layer operations in Thailand. But China continues to hold great business potential given its 1.3 billion population."Excessive investments [in Thailand] would create an oversupply and bring down egg prices, which would definitely affect farmers," he said at a recent seminar on the outlook for the livestock industry, held by the Alumni of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the Chulalongkorn University Association, and the Animal Health Products Association.
He also encouraged Thai livestock companies to expand investment abroad to tap into growing meat demand.
While CP has a number of investments in livestock in several countries, production remains low when compared with domestic demands."Our operation in Russia has a capacity to raise as many as one million pigs a year but the volume is still far below domestic demand of 16 million pigs," he said.
CP's pig investment in China, while also sizeable, accounts for a mere 6% of the Chinese market, which produces about 46 million tonnes of pork per year.
Enlarged farm sizes, high-quality breeds and stronger marketing were the factors that would improve the Thai livestock business in the future, Mr Dhanin added.
The Thai conglomerate entered into a contract with Beijing two years ago to help modernise China's farm sector and promote integrated farming businesses there.
CP Group chairman Dhanin Chearavanont said the group planned to raise about 3 million layers in each integrated egg-laying farm. Each site would also have a chicken-feed production plant and a processing plant for higher-value egg-based products such as powdered and liquid eggs for the food industry.Chicken manure would be used as fertiliser.
"Other necessary facilities will include conveyors to load eggs from farms to processing units to avoid human handling of the products," he said. He did not give specific locations and investment capital involved.
CP Group, Thailand's largest agribusiness group, was the first foreign investor in China. It has invested billions of dollars over three decades in several ventures including shopping malls, the poultry industry, animal feed and motorcycle plants.
Its successful farm operations attracted attention from Chinese officials, who are promoting a programme worth 100 billion renminbi involving four parties:farmers, CP, the China Development Bank and Chinese authorities, CP vicechairman Thanakorn Seriburi said recently.
The programme is to be carried out in some villages in Anhui, Shanxi, Henan,Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Jilin provinces.
Over the past two years, a number of delegations of Chinese authorities have visited farm villages supported by CP,and the Nong Wah agricultural village in Chachoengsao has become an impressive prototype, according to another CP executive.
The Nong Wah project was initiated 30 years ago by Bangkok Bank, CP and the villagers. Each villager was allocated 24 rai, a house, pig breeders and proper facilities to raise pigs with guidance from the company, while bank staff helped train them to manage finances effectively.
After 30 years, villagers were able to repay debts and run the village on their own under the Nong Wah Agricultural Village Company.
According to Mr Dhanin, CP has no plan for further investments in poultry farms, especially layer operations in Thailand. But China continues to hold great business potential given its 1.3 billion population."Excessive investments [in Thailand] would create an oversupply and bring down egg prices, which would definitely affect farmers," he said at a recent seminar on the outlook for the livestock industry, held by the Alumni of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the Chulalongkorn University Association, and the Animal Health Products Association.
He also encouraged Thai livestock companies to expand investment abroad to tap into growing meat demand.
While CP has a number of investments in livestock in several countries, production remains low when compared with domestic demands."Our operation in Russia has a capacity to raise as many as one million pigs a year but the volume is still far below domestic demand of 16 million pigs," he said.
CP's pig investment in China, while also sizeable, accounts for a mere 6% of the Chinese market, which produces about 46 million tonnes of pork per year.
Enlarged farm sizes, high-quality breeds and stronger marketing were the factors that would improve the Thai livestock business in the future, Mr Dhanin added.
Unilever pays $1.8bn for Sara Lee brands
The consumer goods giant Unilever agreed yesterday to pay 1.275 billion ($1.87 billion) for Sara Lee's personal-care brands like Sanex and Radox to reinforce its global lead in deodorants and skin cleansing.
The Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc/NV is buying a business with 85% of its sales in Europe, while Sara Lee will now look to sell its household goods business separately as it launched a $1 billion share buyback programme.
The deal marks the first major acquisition for Unilever's new chief executive Paul Polman, while Sara Lee's CEO Brenda Barnes is now half-way through a planned sell-off of non-core business aimed at focusing the US group on food and drink.
"The Sara Lee brands enjoy strong consumer recognition, offer significant growth potential and are an excellent fit with Unilever's existing business," said Polman in a statement.
Unilever says Sanex, Radox and also Duschdas brands will complement its Dove, Axe and Rexona at slightly lower prices and strengthen its European business in key markets such as Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain,Italy and Denmark.
Sara Lee said the brands sold accounted for 55% of the profits from its businesses up for sale, and added it had seen significant interest in its household brands including Ambi Pur air fresheners,Kiwi shoe polish, Vapona insecticides and its non-European cleaning brands.
"We intend to use proceeds from the divestiture to invest for growth in our core business and to repurchase stock,"Barnes said in a Sara Lee statement.
The US group also reiterated that it intended to maintain its current quarterly dividend of 11 cents for the next four quarters regardless of the timing of disposals.
Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills said the price Unilever was paying of 10 times core operating profit, or EBITDA,"is not huge by industry standards which reflects the fairly disparate collection of assets which also include Brylcream hair gel.
"We're not convinced that this is the greatest collection of assets but another acquisition shows Unilever still moving from the back foot (cost cutting and disposals) to the front foot (volume growth and acquisitions)," he said.
Sara Lee put its household and personal-care business up for sale earlier this year, and it was expected by analysts to break up the wide-ranging business to make a sell-off easier.
The Sara Lee brands being acquired by Unilever generated annual sales in excess of 750 million with EBITDA of 128 million for the year ending June 2009. The overall Sara Lee business up for sale had annual sales of 1.5 billion.The deal is subject to regulatory approval and consultation with European employee works councils.
The Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc/NV is buying a business with 85% of its sales in Europe, while Sara Lee will now look to sell its household goods business separately as it launched a $1 billion share buyback programme.
The deal marks the first major acquisition for Unilever's new chief executive Paul Polman, while Sara Lee's CEO Brenda Barnes is now half-way through a planned sell-off of non-core business aimed at focusing the US group on food and drink.
"The Sara Lee brands enjoy strong consumer recognition, offer significant growth potential and are an excellent fit with Unilever's existing business," said Polman in a statement.
Unilever says Sanex, Radox and also Duschdas brands will complement its Dove, Axe and Rexona at slightly lower prices and strengthen its European business in key markets such as Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain,Italy and Denmark.
Sara Lee said the brands sold accounted for 55% of the profits from its businesses up for sale, and added it had seen significant interest in its household brands including Ambi Pur air fresheners,Kiwi shoe polish, Vapona insecticides and its non-European cleaning brands.
"We intend to use proceeds from the divestiture to invest for growth in our core business and to repurchase stock,"Barnes said in a Sara Lee statement.
The US group also reiterated that it intended to maintain its current quarterly dividend of 11 cents for the next four quarters regardless of the timing of disposals.
Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills said the price Unilever was paying of 10 times core operating profit, or EBITDA,"is not huge by industry standards which reflects the fairly disparate collection of assets which also include Brylcream hair gel.
"We're not convinced that this is the greatest collection of assets but another acquisition shows Unilever still moving from the back foot (cost cutting and disposals) to the front foot (volume growth and acquisitions)," he said.
Sara Lee put its household and personal-care business up for sale earlier this year, and it was expected by analysts to break up the wide-ranging business to make a sell-off easier.
The Sara Lee brands being acquired by Unilever generated annual sales in excess of 750 million with EBITDA of 128 million for the year ending June 2009. The overall Sara Lee business up for sale had annual sales of 1.5 billion.The deal is subject to regulatory approval and consultation with European employee works councils.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
FOCUS ON GREEN PRODUCTION, MARKETING
To help curb global warming, Betagro Group has been concentrating on making its businesses eco-friendly by applying green manufacturing technology and green marketing, which not only save production costs but also boost sales.
Betagro, through is subsidiary B International and Technology, yesterday launched Kooling Max, a biodegradable cleaning product for the livestock industry made mainly from natural materials such as citric acid in lemons.
Rising global concerns over the environment and consumption have prompted the group to focus more on green manufacturing. This will also allow the company to engage more in health-conscious markets.
Nopporn Vayuchote, group executive vice president, said the product is another development step of the group to green its business since it started focusing on the issue more than 20 years ago.
The product makes use of an innovative electrolytic cleaning method for ventilation systems that produces no harmful wastewater discharge and has no harmful effects on the environment.
The product is estimated to help reduce production costs by about 2 per cent and imported paper to produce cooling pads by 30 per cent.
"We have to catch up with the rising global environmental-friendly trend so that all materials entering our supply chain should also be 'green' to promote our green marketing strategy," Nopporn said.
Cherdchai Sinsarng, general manager of B International and Technology, said the product had been under development for more than two years to ensure its quality. Its special feature is helping to maintain the temperature of the chilled water for longer than normal while reducing water wastage.
It will allow greater ventilation efficiency to reduce not only electricity costs but also chicken deaths. It will reduce maintenance costs of related farm equipment used to smooth the operation of the evaporative cooling farm system. And it reduces the scale problem on cooling pads, gates and foot valves and pipes in the system.
B International expects the new product's sales will reach Bt15 million next year.
Using Kooling Max will cost a standard 140-metre-long farm with 20,000 chickens only Bt2,000 per crop cycle of about 40 days.
The product will be exported to Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia - the traditional markets for the company's farm equipment.
The company focuses on livestock engineering goods and related products. It targets sales of Bt300 million this year. Total revenue of the group is set to increase 10-15 per cent to Bt50 billion this year, he added.
Nopporn said the group is also preparing a manufacturing model for ready-to-eat foods such as sandwiches, steamed pork and pork leg with pork and chicken as their base material.
The customer target will be the institutional food service market rather than the retail market. The product will be sold under the Better Food brand.
"We are not experts in the retail business but we have experience in catering, cooking technology and shop decoration so we have to focus on our strength," Nopporn said.
Betagro, through is subsidiary B International and Technology, yesterday launched Kooling Max, a biodegradable cleaning product for the livestock industry made mainly from natural materials such as citric acid in lemons.
Rising global concerns over the environment and consumption have prompted the group to focus more on green manufacturing. This will also allow the company to engage more in health-conscious markets.
Nopporn Vayuchote, group executive vice president, said the product is another development step of the group to green its business since it started focusing on the issue more than 20 years ago.
The product makes use of an innovative electrolytic cleaning method for ventilation systems that produces no harmful wastewater discharge and has no harmful effects on the environment.
The product is estimated to help reduce production costs by about 2 per cent and imported paper to produce cooling pads by 30 per cent.
"We have to catch up with the rising global environmental-friendly trend so that all materials entering our supply chain should also be 'green' to promote our green marketing strategy," Nopporn said.
Cherdchai Sinsarng, general manager of B International and Technology, said the product had been under development for more than two years to ensure its quality. Its special feature is helping to maintain the temperature of the chilled water for longer than normal while reducing water wastage.
It will allow greater ventilation efficiency to reduce not only electricity costs but also chicken deaths. It will reduce maintenance costs of related farm equipment used to smooth the operation of the evaporative cooling farm system. And it reduces the scale problem on cooling pads, gates and foot valves and pipes in the system.
B International expects the new product's sales will reach Bt15 million next year.
Using Kooling Max will cost a standard 140-metre-long farm with 20,000 chickens only Bt2,000 per crop cycle of about 40 days.
The product will be exported to Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia - the traditional markets for the company's farm equipment.
The company focuses on livestock engineering goods and related products. It targets sales of Bt300 million this year. Total revenue of the group is set to increase 10-15 per cent to Bt50 billion this year, he added.
Nopporn said the group is also preparing a manufacturing model for ready-to-eat foods such as sandwiches, steamed pork and pork leg with pork and chicken as their base material.
The customer target will be the institutional food service market rather than the retail market. The product will be sold under the Better Food brand.
"We are not experts in the retail business but we have experience in catering, cooking technology and shop decoration so we have to focus on our strength," Nopporn said.
Betagro to sell green products
Betagro Group, one of Thailand's leading food producers and exporters, has enhanced its green profile by forming a partnership to market energy-saving products for the livestock industry in local and export markets.
B. International and Technology Co,a unit of Betagro, yesterday entered an agreement to exclusively distribute Kooling Max, a liquid product from Earth Concept Co, a Thai manufacturer and distributor of natural cleaning materials.
Used with a cooling pad in the ventilation system at livestock farms, Kooling Max lowers temperatures, thereby cutting water consumption, electricity bills and animal mortality, said Cherdchai Sinsarng, general manager of B. International and Technology Co.
"At an experimental test, the capacity would bring down operating costs for chicken by 0.50 baht per kilogramme,or 2% to 3% over about six weeks of raising," he said.
B. International plans to sell about 20,000 litres of Kooling Max next year to earn about 15 million baht in revenue.
Although this is a minor contribution to the company's expected revenue of more than 300 million baht this year, B.International sees good prospects for the product from the strong growth in the livestock industry in Thailand and many Asian countries.
The company plans to tap this growth by distributing the product abroad together with other farm product ranges,such as ventilation controllers, cooling pads and silo weighing scales.
Many Asian countries have made substantial investments in livestock businesses to meet growing domestic and export demand, said Nopporn Vayuchote, Betagro Group's executive vicepresident.
Neighbouring countries' many recent investments in raising chicken and swine feature advanced equipment and technologies - especially in Vietnam, where Indonesian investors have set up a giant modern pig farm business, he said.
Kooling Max will reduce energy use in line with a green marketing concept and conform with international rules on animal welfare, he said.
The product has been warmly welcomed by big farm operators including Charoen Pokphand Group, and the resulting energy savings would raise the competitiveness of the Thai livestock industry, he said.
Betagro Group expects its sales this year to increase to 50 billion baht from 45 billion in 2008.
The company plans to inject about 3 billion baht next year into projects including setting up more Betagro Shop outlets, due to reach 50 stores by the year-end, and new investments in readyto-eat food.
B. International and Technology Co,a unit of Betagro, yesterday entered an agreement to exclusively distribute Kooling Max, a liquid product from Earth Concept Co, a Thai manufacturer and distributor of natural cleaning materials.
Used with a cooling pad in the ventilation system at livestock farms, Kooling Max lowers temperatures, thereby cutting water consumption, electricity bills and animal mortality, said Cherdchai Sinsarng, general manager of B. International and Technology Co.
"At an experimental test, the capacity would bring down operating costs for chicken by 0.50 baht per kilogramme,or 2% to 3% over about six weeks of raising," he said.
B. International plans to sell about 20,000 litres of Kooling Max next year to earn about 15 million baht in revenue.
Although this is a minor contribution to the company's expected revenue of more than 300 million baht this year, B.International sees good prospects for the product from the strong growth in the livestock industry in Thailand and many Asian countries.
The company plans to tap this growth by distributing the product abroad together with other farm product ranges,such as ventilation controllers, cooling pads and silo weighing scales.
Many Asian countries have made substantial investments in livestock businesses to meet growing domestic and export demand, said Nopporn Vayuchote, Betagro Group's executive vicepresident.
Neighbouring countries' many recent investments in raising chicken and swine feature advanced equipment and technologies - especially in Vietnam, where Indonesian investors have set up a giant modern pig farm business, he said.
Kooling Max will reduce energy use in line with a green marketing concept and conform with international rules on animal welfare, he said.
The product has been warmly welcomed by big farm operators including Charoen Pokphand Group, and the resulting energy savings would raise the competitiveness of the Thai livestock industry, he said.
Betagro Group expects its sales this year to increase to 50 billion baht from 45 billion in 2008.
The company plans to inject about 3 billion baht next year into projects including setting up more Betagro Shop outlets, due to reach 50 stores by the year-end, and new investments in readyto-eat food.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
CP'S NEW FACILITY GIVES RICE PRIDE OF PLACE
CP Trading Group plans to establish a Bt3.5-billion rice processing and trading facility in Ayutthaya province to ensure "single-standard quality" and facilitate future expansion.
Set to be complete next year, the centre will be located on about 550 rai and will include the group's third rice processing and packing plant, with a total capacity of 1.08 million tonnes. Rice will be directly shipped from a river port nearby and an inland container depot.
CP Trading's head office will be moved to the location from Bangkok, but a Bangkok office will be maintained as a business coordination unit. Started in 2007, the project is aimed at positioning the rice trade as the firm's core business.
Prasit Damrongchietanon, chief executive officer of CP Trading Group, said completion of the project will boost the group's rice production capacity to 2.5 million tonnes.
The firm already has two processing facilities in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani and three rice mills in Buri Ram, Kamphaeng Phet and Suphan Buri.
Prasit said the group's total rice trade volume is forecast to reach 1 million tonnes this year, with exports and domestic sales contributing 50 per cent each.
"CP Group has focused on rice, developing the necessary fundamentals to ensure this business milestone is reached and strengthening the group's competitiveness," Prasit said.
CP Trading Group manages its rice trading through CP Intertrade, its marketing arm, and markets the rice under the Royal Umbrella brand. The brand is ranked as the country's fifth-biggest export product, with total volume of 600,000 tonnes worth Bt9 billion shipped last year. However, this is forecast to drop to 500,000 tonnes, worth Bt8.5 billion, this year in line with the slowdown in the country's overall rice exports.
Sumeth Laomoraphorn, president of CP Intertrade, said the company exported 265,591 tonnes of rice worth Bt6.3 billion during the first seven months of this year.
The company's domestic rice sales are projected to reach 530,000 tonnes worth Bt11.8 billion this year. Its total sales reached 287,644 tonnes of rice worth Bt7.15 billion in the first eight months.
The Kingdom's total rice exports are expected to reach 8.5 million to 8.7 million tonnes this year.
Prasit said CP Trading Group has had to prepare a new rice-business plan to cope with increased competition from both existing traders and newcomers. However, the business still has room for growth in the areas of bagged rice and value-added rice products, he said.
The tougher competition, however, will have a positive impact on the industry, Prasit said, as it will force traders to improve the quality of their rice and to develop new marketing strategies. The rapid expansion of modern-trade channels in Thailand has been a key factor in the switch to bagged rice, which has become popular among consumers, he said.
The rice business is now managed
by a young generation of highly
educated executives who have em-braced modern-trade models to boost
sales, Prasit said. This has not only widened market opportunities but
also led to rapid changes in trading
patterns, as well as business diversification.
"The Kingdom's major rice exporters are not the established traders of old, but newcomers formed by small local rice traders and millers," Prasit said, noting, however, that quality is still the most important factor.
Prasit said CP Trading Group is considering looking for business partners to launch new rice products. This strategy, he said, will support the group's goal of achieving complete upstream-through-downstream production.
The company is also considering a plan to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, he said.
Set to be complete next year, the centre will be located on about 550 rai and will include the group's third rice processing and packing plant, with a total capacity of 1.08 million tonnes. Rice will be directly shipped from a river port nearby and an inland container depot.
CP Trading's head office will be moved to the location from Bangkok, but a Bangkok office will be maintained as a business coordination unit. Started in 2007, the project is aimed at positioning the rice trade as the firm's core business.
Prasit Damrongchietanon, chief executive officer of CP Trading Group, said completion of the project will boost the group's rice production capacity to 2.5 million tonnes.
The firm already has two processing facilities in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani and three rice mills in Buri Ram, Kamphaeng Phet and Suphan Buri.
Prasit said the group's total rice trade volume is forecast to reach 1 million tonnes this year, with exports and domestic sales contributing 50 per cent each.
"CP Group has focused on rice, developing the necessary fundamentals to ensure this business milestone is reached and strengthening the group's competitiveness," Prasit said.
CP Trading Group manages its rice trading through CP Intertrade, its marketing arm, and markets the rice under the Royal Umbrella brand. The brand is ranked as the country's fifth-biggest export product, with total volume of 600,000 tonnes worth Bt9 billion shipped last year. However, this is forecast to drop to 500,000 tonnes, worth Bt8.5 billion, this year in line with the slowdown in the country's overall rice exports.
Sumeth Laomoraphorn, president of CP Intertrade, said the company exported 265,591 tonnes of rice worth Bt6.3 billion during the first seven months of this year.
The company's domestic rice sales are projected to reach 530,000 tonnes worth Bt11.8 billion this year. Its total sales reached 287,644 tonnes of rice worth Bt7.15 billion in the first eight months.
The Kingdom's total rice exports are expected to reach 8.5 million to 8.7 million tonnes this year.
Prasit said CP Trading Group has had to prepare a new rice-business plan to cope with increased competition from both existing traders and newcomers. However, the business still has room for growth in the areas of bagged rice and value-added rice products, he said.
The tougher competition, however, will have a positive impact on the industry, Prasit said, as it will force traders to improve the quality of their rice and to develop new marketing strategies. The rapid expansion of modern-trade channels in Thailand has been a key factor in the switch to bagged rice, which has become popular among consumers, he said.
The rice business is now managed
by a young generation of highly
educated executives who have em-braced modern-trade models to boost
sales, Prasit said. This has not only widened market opportunities but
also led to rapid changes in trading
patterns, as well as business diversification.
"The Kingdom's major rice exporters are not the established traders of old, but newcomers formed by small local rice traders and millers," Prasit said, noting, however, that quality is still the most important factor.
Prasit said CP Trading Group is considering looking for business partners to launch new rice products. This strategy, he said, will support the group's goal of achieving complete upstream-through-downstream production.
The company is also considering a plan to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, he said.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
CP keeps pace in rice market
CP International Trading Business Group, a unit of Charoen Pokphand Group, has beefed up its rice business to cash in on growing local packed rice sales and cope with mounting market competition from new players.
The group will start operation next March on its new rice processing plant in Ayutthaya province, which it calls the most advanced rice facility in Asia,built for more than one billion baht.
The new plant will add another 1.08 million tonnes of milled rice and bring the company's rice production capacity to nearly two million tonnes a year,said Prasit Damrongchietanon, CEO of CP Intertrade.
The plant was part of a 3.5-billionbaht project that also includes a river port, inland container depot and a new head office for CP Intertrade in the same compound.
The additional volume should help the company enlarge its market share in packed rice sales and improve export volume from 500,000 tonnes in 2008.
"We sold about 500,000 tonnes of rice locally last year through modern trade [stores]. The volume ranked us as market leader even though it only accounted for a 6% share of rice distributed via this channel," he said.
CP Intertrade also exported about 500,000 tonnes last year and the rice business was a main contributor to the company's 22 billion baht in revenue last year.
Based on figures from the Thai Rice Packers Association, local rice consumption is estimated at 8-9 million tonnes a year, with most sold in traditional markets and nearly one million tonnes sold through modern trade stores.
The association estimated the value of the packed rice market at about 20 billion baht a year, but expects it to rise substantially following rapid urbanisation. High margins on bagged rice have lured new players to enter the market in recent years despite the presence of more than 100 packers.
Boonrawd Brewery Group is reportedly teaming up with one of the country's largest rice traders and exporters, Asia Golden Rice Co. If the venture materialises, the strong distribution network of Singha beer could create a serious contender.
Mr Prasit shrugged off the possible entry of Boonrawd.
"The packed rice market is still very virgin and can grow further, considering only 800,000 to 900,000 tonnes compete in modern trade stores," he said.
Consumers will consider product quality and brands more in the future,and they will require a product that is traceable, he added.
In order to remain the market leader,CP Intertrade earmarked 150 million baht for marketing this year to promote rice sales under the Royal Umbrella brand.
The group will start operation next March on its new rice processing plant in Ayutthaya province, which it calls the most advanced rice facility in Asia,built for more than one billion baht.
The new plant will add another 1.08 million tonnes of milled rice and bring the company's rice production capacity to nearly two million tonnes a year,said Prasit Damrongchietanon, CEO of CP Intertrade.
The plant was part of a 3.5-billionbaht project that also includes a river port, inland container depot and a new head office for CP Intertrade in the same compound.
The additional volume should help the company enlarge its market share in packed rice sales and improve export volume from 500,000 tonnes in 2008.
"We sold about 500,000 tonnes of rice locally last year through modern trade [stores]. The volume ranked us as market leader even though it only accounted for a 6% share of rice distributed via this channel," he said.
CP Intertrade also exported about 500,000 tonnes last year and the rice business was a main contributor to the company's 22 billion baht in revenue last year.
Based on figures from the Thai Rice Packers Association, local rice consumption is estimated at 8-9 million tonnes a year, with most sold in traditional markets and nearly one million tonnes sold through modern trade stores.
The association estimated the value of the packed rice market at about 20 billion baht a year, but expects it to rise substantially following rapid urbanisation. High margins on bagged rice have lured new players to enter the market in recent years despite the presence of more than 100 packers.
Boonrawd Brewery Group is reportedly teaming up with one of the country's largest rice traders and exporters, Asia Golden Rice Co. If the venture materialises, the strong distribution network of Singha beer could create a serious contender.
Mr Prasit shrugged off the possible entry of Boonrawd.
"The packed rice market is still very virgin and can grow further, considering only 800,000 to 900,000 tonnes compete in modern trade stores," he said.
Consumers will consider product quality and brands more in the future,and they will require a product that is traceable, he added.
In order to remain the market leader,CP Intertrade earmarked 150 million baht for marketing this year to promote rice sales under the Royal Umbrella brand.
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