CPF earnings down on rising expenses
Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), the agricultural conglomerate, yesterday reported a sharp drop in its consolidated net profit, due mainly to higher expenses.
For the year ended December 31, CPF booked a net profit of Bt2.51 billion, a drop of 63 per cent from Bt6.75 billion in 2005."It was mainly due to the fact that the gross profit margin from businesses operated both in Thailand and overseas by CPF and its subsidiaries decreased from 17 per cent in 2005 to 13 per cent in 2006," the company said in a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. CPF said the fall of around 30 per cent in average domestic selling prices of meat in 2006 was mainly caused by bird-flu outbreaks in Thailand and Turkey, which placed significant pressure on chicken and egg consumption. Adirek Sripratak, president and chief executive officer, recently said the most important factors affecting operating results included lower purchasing power, the strength of the baht, fresh rounds of bird-flu outbreaks and a drop in the price of pork. However, the company has focused more on potential markets such as India, Russia and Vietnam. CPF plans to revise down its sales projection this year from Bt140 billion to Bt130 billion, a decrease of 7.1 per cent. The Nation
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