NTPM targets 20% market share in Vietnam in three to five years

NIBONG TEBAL: NTPM Holdings Bhd is targeting to achieve a 20% market share in Vietnam in three to five years.

Group managing director Lee See Jin told StarBiz after an AGM that if the progress in the penetration of tissue paper in the Vietnam market continued to be good, the group might decide by end of 2017 to invest RM20mil to expand the Vietnam operations.

“The Vietnam operations was currently running at a loss, which would contribute about 3% for the current 2017 financial year ending next April,” Lee added.

Lee said there was a lot of potential in Vietnam, as over the next three to five years the per capita consumption of tissue paper was expected to grow to 2kg per capita a year from 0.8kg per capita a year presently.

“In Vietnam, our maximum production capacity is 800 metric tonnes per month, while the actual output is about 200MT per month presently.

“The figure can reach 500 MT to 600 MT per month in five to six months,” he said.

Lee said the group commenced operations in Vietnam only in May 2015, and the total revenue generated from the business was RM3.5mil for the financial year 2016, or RM0.3mil monthly sales.

“We have improved the top-line numbers today. In August, we managed to generate net sales of more than RM1mil for that particular month,” Lee said.

On the group’s operations in the country, Lee said NTPM would spend RM30mil for the 2017 fiscal year to purchase new manufacturing equipment to drive automation and expand the existing warehouses.

NTPM has six plants in Malaysia, located in Penang, Parit Buntar in Perak, Bentong in Pahang, and Sabah, producing 220 MT of tissue products daily, of which 30% are exported.

NTPM will pay a final single tier dividend of 8% for the financial year 2016 ended April 30 on Oct 14 2016.