One of Kinh Do’s goals this year is completing merger and acquisition (M&A) deals.
According to Mr. Tran Le Nguyen at the annual shareholders’ meeting this morning, the company is aiming at acquiring and buying companies with potential in three main fields: cooking oil, instant noodles, and dipping sauce.
Currently, the annual growth rate of the confectionery sector is more than 10%. Brands have already secured their specific shares in the market so it’s quite difficult to snatch another company’s “slice of the cake”. If the company wants to attain 20-30% growth, it must expand the business.
The shareholders were concerned about the packaging, price, competitive strategy, and target consumers of Kinh Do’s instant noodle and seasoning products. Without directly answering the queries, Kinh Do management disclosed, “We are planning to release instant noodle products—the product launch date and approach have not yet been confirmed.” As for the seasoning powder category, the company has yet to officially announce its strategic partner.
Many shareholders questioned the feasibility of the 2013 plans, especially when the company missed 2012 targets, with net revenue of VND 5,000 billion and pre-tax profit of VND 500 billion only meeting 78% and 98% of targets, respectively. This year, the company expects to achieve net revenue of VND 5,200 billion, a 21.3% increase, pre-tax profit of VND 600 billion, a 22.5% increase, and dividend payment of 20% in cash.
Vice President Tran Quoc Viet says that the economic situation in 2013 remains difficult. In addition to building strong score restructuring product groups, optimizing supply chains, etc, the company is diligently taking advantage of all presented opportunities to deepen the distribution network.
As opposed to previous years when KDC focused on developing sales locations in major areas, this year, the company is projecting its presence in every nook and cranny of the residential areas. The “picking up loose change” strategy will be greatly beneficial for the business in the current conditions.
The VND 5,200 billion target, according to Mr. Viet, will be from the sales of the existing products, not including the contribution of new products, such as instant noodles.
Mr. Nguyen additionally shared, “the Board has calculated carefully and these numbers are at a modest attainable level. More optimistically, revenue may reach VND 6,000 billion after the launch of new products”
The company expects to issue over 1.1 million shares to swap with Vinabico shares, 500,000 shares to the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board; and 6 million ESOP shares to staff members, equivalent to 3.6% of charter capital, at VND 18,000 per share.
Currently, the company has a charter capital of over VND 1,665 billion, with over 165 million shares in the market. Total charter capital after additional share issuance is over VND 2,000 billion.