BANGKOK: Berli Jucker Pcl (BJC), one of the oldest trading firms in Thailand, remains on the lookout for acquisition opportunities after its US$6.1 billion (RM27.02 billion) purchase of Thai hypermarket operator Big C Supercentre Pcl last month. This time, it is eyeing logistics companies in Malaysia to bolster its Southeast Asian presence.

BJC, which is part of the Thai Charoen Corp Group — one of Thailand’s biggest conglomerates — is looking to acquire companies that specialise in marketing distribution here.

“We are always on the lookout for companies that can provide us with some logistics and distribution [expertise], so we can be better in terms of managing the products [BJC Foods Sdn Bhd handles] at a different location in Malaysia,” its chief executive officer cum president Aswin Techajareonvikul told reporters during a media tour and interview session at Big C’s office here last month.

He was referring to BJC Foods’ snack food operations in Shah Alam, Selangor. Back in 2008, BJC bought Jacy Foods Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian manufacturer and distributor of potato chips and other processed snack food, which it later renamed as BJC Foods. Today, BJC Foods sells its products both locally and to countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Brunei.

Aswin envisioned that such an acquisition will help BJC Foods expand its export markets and manufacturing base to other Asean countries, as well as the Middle East.

He also said the group prefers acquisitions to partnerships, as the latter requires one to start from scratch.

“No partnership [for us], but [rather] acquiring [the right company] which will give us insights into what we can sell, [and] to whom we can sell to. It is the fastest way to grow,” he said, adding that the group is targeting companies that are already well-established in Malaysia,” he added.

BJC is involved in supply chain management and retail solutions, specialising in packaging, consumer goods and healthcare products. It is now the flagship retail business of the Sirivadhanabhakdi family, which is headed by billionaire tycoon Charoen.

Aswin said if the new buy in Malaysia materialises, BJC Foods will then be able to increase its production, especially fabricated snacks, which are snacks prepared from dough comprising starch-based materials.

“We plan to produce more of this kind of snacks and export to Thailand and other countries. We will double our capacity in three to five years. Currently, [we are producing at] 5,785 tonnes per year,” Aswin said.

Meanwhile, Aswin told The Edge Financial Daily that BJC Group’s glass bottle maker subsidiary in Malaysia — Malaya Glass Products Sdn Bhd — is looking at increasing its glass production capacity by investing some US$35 million to add a new machine by the first quarter of 2018. Malaya Glass has operations in Thailand, China and Vietnam.

Malaya Glass, said Aswin, currently has three furnaces with a maximum capacity per day of 510 tonnes. The new machine will raise the furnaces’ collective capacity to 660 tonnes.

BJC registered a 43.32% year-on-year increase in net profit to four billion baht last year from 2.79 billion baht in 2015, while revenue rose 192.19% to 125.33 billion baht from 42.89 billion baht, as the group consolidated the results of Big C in the last three quarters.

“Based on 2016’s full-year financial statements, revenue from international business contributed 8.3% of total BJC revenue and Malaysia generated around 0.36% only. The percentage contribution reduced significantly from the previous year since we consolidated Big C’s revenue,” he said.

Aswin said the group is not concerned about the softening of the ringgit as it would not impact its business much. It is more worried about the exchange rate of Thai baht versus the US dollar instead.

“We worry about it (the US dollar to Thai baht conversion) when we buy aluminium for manufacturing purposes, so we monitor that closely,” he said.

Going forward, Aswin expects this year to be a challenging one for the group following its acquisition of Big C last year. “There are lots of things to do in terms of growing the business. We just finished the acquisition last year and now we need to do all the capital restructuring to become more flexible in terms of our position, to perform well and find more opportunities to grow. We will bring more Malaysian products to the Asean marketplace too.”