Winning three SET 2021 awards in November has become testament to the Carabao Group’s remarkable success amid the huge challenges arising from the Covid-19 outbreak. The company’s Chief Executive Officer Sathien Setthasit was named the best CEO by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) for the second time in two consecutive years while the firm garnered awards for one of the best performing companies and outstanding innovation.
It is the second year in a row that Mr. Sathien has been honoured with the ‘Best CEO Award’ and the Carabao Group with the ‘Company Performance Award’ for a listed company with a market capitalisation of more than 100 billion baht. On top of that, the company’s ‘Q-Pack,’ a QR Code-based technology that traces the distribution of goods, won the ‘Outstanding Innovative Company Award.’
Mr. Sathien said the company is proud to receive the prestigious awards which endorse its excellence in various operations throughout 2021 amid a challenging operating environment to achieve a robust growth. Meanwhile, the company has sought new business opportunities in the midst of a crisis by means of new product launches and intensifying overseas business expansion. Under the leadership of a seasoned CEO, the Carabao Group has continued to achieve outstanding performance.
In 2020, the company’s revenue both from sales and net profit hit a new high, at 17,231 million baht and 3,559 million baht, respectively. The 15.4% increase in sales from the previous year and the 44.2% surge in net profit are due to more efficient management of expenses and operations. The success story has continued to the second quarter of 2021 with a profit of 966.68 million baht, an increase of 9.7% compared to the same period last year. Excluding foreign exchange gains and special items, the net profit of 955 million baht, an increase of 8.4%, is the record net profit from normal operations since the company was established. The key driver is an increase in exports of its energy drink which represent 50% of the company’s total energy drink sales.
In addition to the CEO and performance excellence accolades, the Outstanding Innovative Company Award bestowed for the ‘Q-Pack’ innovation reflects the outstanding adaptability of the Carabao Group. ‘Q-Pack’ is an innovation that weaknesses in open trade market by linking distribution data to our packaging which allow the company to manage its distribution network and data in real time.
Such an innovation is the result of efforts to solve problems in the traditional channels. This mirrors the company’s values and culture which encompass knowing, acting, accuracy and precision — essential elements that propel the company’s success. “The QR Codes printed on all crates and pallets allow us to monitor where our goods in the entire system are heading to, from agents to sub-agents on to small wholesale shops and on to the retail stores. “With this technology, we know in which areas the products are being distributed well or badly, how fast or slowly they are being sold. “This allows us to quickly tackle problems in each area on the spot, for example, by organising promotional activities in areas that do not sell well, or to fix the distribution of products in areas that are not yet covered.”
Mr. Sathien noted that the Q-Pack has clearly improved the Carabao Group’s business because the information it makes available helps the company sell products faster and better. Crucially, it enhances the company’s competitiveness especially in the beverage business through the traditional retail outlets, or grocery stores, across the country as they are still an important channel to reach consumers.
Next year, the Carabao Group will continue to launch several new products in groups such as Functional Drinks and is also preparing to launch new products in the C+ Lock health drink line. However, the real highlight is the introduction of a new product line that uses cannabis leaves and CBD extracts as ingredients. These new products will surely create excitement in the market. He said: “Next year will see a lot of new product development to drive the company’s growth. At the same time, cost control will be deepened and energy bills reduced to keep profitability at a good level.”
Throughout 2021, a year full of negative factors and uncertainty, the Carabao Group and its CEO have shown excellence in performance to reinforce the company’s proud status as a leading Thai business on the world stage.
