Thai hotel and fast-food chain operator Minor International Pcl plans to spend up to 37 billion baht ($1.16 billion) on expansion and acquisitions over the next five years, accelerating growth overseas to offset domestic weakness.
Minor, which competes with the likes of Yum Brands Inc and Central Plaza Hotel Pcl, said on Wednesday aims to spend 20-25 billion baht for expanding existing businesses at home and overseas, and the rest for buying new food and hotel assets outside Thailand.
Like other major Thai companies, Minor has been aggressive in mergers and acquisitions overseas to develop high-margin food and hotel businesses. Domestic demand has slowed after several months of political crisis in Thailand.
"The opportunity for foreign assets is much bigger than domestic market...We set a budget of 10-12 billion baht for M&A in both food and hotels," said Chaiyapat Paitoon, vice president for strategy. He said the firm aims to boost revenue from foreign operations to 45 percent of total by 2018 from 38 percent now.
The company, which runs Burger King, Dairy Queen and The Pizza Company outlets across Asia, planned to boost the number of both domestic and foreign branches to 2,600 in the next five years from 1,592 now, Chaiyapat said.
Minor, which owns majority stakes in hotels run under the Four Seasons, Marriott, St Regis and other brands, as well as other hotel joint ventures and management contracts, expects average growth in net profit of at least 15-20 percent a year over the next five years, he added.
The company expected net profit in the second half to rise 11 percent from a year earlier, boosted by improving domestic confidence and recovery in the tourism sector, Chaiyapat said.
Food contributed 43 percent of first-half revenue, with 48 percent from hotels. While the occupancy rate at hotels dropped to 60 percent in the second quarter after the military seized power in late May, Chaiyapat said he expected the rate to be at least 70 percent for the whole of 2014.
