STA Showcases 2021 Performance with Record-breaking Profit of 15,846.7 Mln Baht Highlighting cost management efficiency and rubber industry uptrend Final Dividend of 0.65 baht a share proposed for approval in AGM; XD to be posted April 19 2022.
Sri Trang Agro-Industry Pcl. (STA) showcases its 2021 performance with record-breaking net profit of 15,846.7 million baht, up 13.4% from the previous year, due to increased cost management efficiency and the natural rubber industry trending up. Sales of rubber last year hit the target of 1.3 million tons, increasing share in both Thai and overseas markets. The Board of Directors propose the shareholders’ meeting to approve final dividend payment at 0.65 baht per share, boosting the year-round dividend payment to an all-time high. XD is to be posted on April 19, 2022. Expanded production capacities are expected to further boost growth in 2022.
Mr. Veerasith Sinchareonkul, Chief Executive Officer of Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company Limited (STA), the world’s leading producer and distributor of integrated natural rubber products and Thailand’s largest producer of latex gloves, says 2021 was a golden year for the company with revenues from sales and service reaching 118,275.4 million baht, up 56.7% from the previous year, the highest in a decade. The net profit, meanwhile, is a historic high of 15,846.7 million baht while the gross profit for the natural rubber operations is more than 12% for each and every quarter, setting a new standard for the country’s rubber industry.
Factors contributing to last year’s performance growth include: (1) Sales of natural rubber increased to 1.3 million tons as targeted, up 25.4% over the previous year which was higher than the market’s overall growth; (2) The rubber industry has been on an uptrend and the recovery of the auto tire industry raises demands for natural rubber; (3) Cost management efficiency is enhanced by such initiatives as investment in production technologies that keep labor demand down, and the introduction of “Sri Trang for Growers” app to facilitate rubber trading and communication with rubber growers; and (4) The company has been able to set rubber prices higher than the prevailing average global rates.
“Our natural rubber sales over the past year increased considerably. Our machines (for all types of rubber) ran on average 70% of the time all year round compared to 55% in 2020. And specifically for block rubber, our machines in Thailand ran on average over 80% the whole year compared to 57% in 2020,” Mr. Veerasith says.
In the meantime, the company’s Board of Directors has on February 17, 2022, resolved to pay a final dividend of 0.65 baht per share and to declare XD on April 19 with the payment to be made on May 6, 2022. The board’s resolution will be proposed to the Shareholders General Meeting of 2022 for approval. During 2021 the dividend payment for the 1st quarter was 1.00 baht per share, 1.25 baht per share for the 2nd quarter and 1.25 baht per share for the 3rd quarter. Together with the 4th quarter payment, the total dividend for the entire year amounts to 4.15 baht per share, the highest payout in the company’s history.The STA’s CEO adds that he expects 2022 will be another year of sustained growth. Plans are for the sales of natural rubber to increase to 1.6 million tons, more than 20% over last year’s. Contributory factors include market expansion in Thailand and overseas, the uptrend of the global natural rubber industry as well as the company’s continuing expansion of production capacities throughout all quarters.
Mr. Veerasith says the company’s facilities in Phitsanulok, Bung Kan, Sakon Nakhon, and Trang provinces will have an increased capacity of more than 290,000 tons of block rubber production per year while the plants in Bung Kan, Narathiwat, and Surat Thani (Kanchanadit District) will increase the production of concentrated latex by more than 180,000 tons per year. Furthermore, the sales price for TSR20 block rubber on Singapore’s futures exchanges is expected to be on an uptrend as well, averaging out over the entire year to no less than 171 cents per kilogram compared to 167 cents per kilogram the year before.
In another development, STA has begun planting hemp in its plantations in Thoen district of Lampang province. The land has undergone tests to ensure the absence of heavy metal contamination. Its pilot plot will yield the first harvest in April. Future produce, including seeds, leaves, and roots, will be delivered to customers who have placed pre-orders or who have signed business cooperation agreements with the company, Mr. Veerasith says.