Despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品) remains upbeat about its business outlook this year, the company said yesterday.
“The sun is still rising,” Wei Chuan general manager Chang Chiao-hua (張教華) said at the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei yesterday.
“While the COVID-19 situation did affect the food industry this year and last year, our sales are going in the right direction,” he said.
Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei Times
“The pandemic has hit the food and beverage sector, but by researching markets and paying close attention to consumer behavior, we were able to adapt and improved our sales to big-box retailers,” Chang said. “Overall, our revenue is growing, despite the pandemic.”
For the first half of this year, Wei Chuan reported revenue of NT$9.31 billion (US$335.23 million), up 8.4 percent year-on-year, while net profit was NT$183 million, up 69.26 percent from a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$0.36.
The company’s revenue fell 7.8 percent year-on-year to NT$18.65 billion for the whole of last year, with net profit decreasing 60.36 percent to NT$586.86 million, company data showed.
Despite dealing with the pressure of increased logistical and material costs, Chang said that Wei Chuan would not be raising its prices.
Instead, “we will adjust our product mix and enhance our sales push on high-margin products,” he said.
Sales of Wei Chuan’s flagship line of Lin Feng Yin (林鳳營) dairy products plunged 50 percent at local drink stores and restaurants after the COVID-19 outbreak in May, but their retail sales still increased, Chang said.
However, Lin Feng Yin’s market share slid from about 40 percent to about 22 percent, he said.
The company is working hard to develop new products to meet people’s needs in the post-pandemic era and hopes to keep revenue growth within a reasonable range this year, he said.
Wei Chuan’s core brands are doing well in China, and the company is continuing to cultivate the eastern market while moving into the northern market, Chang said.
Wei Chuan shareholders yesterday approved the company’s distribution of a cash dividend of NT$0.53 per share, based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$1.06.
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