JCR highlighted Thai Union continued growth, driven by its investments in high-value-added products and innovation. It further pointed to the Company's seafood business potential, supported by extensive global production, procurement and marketing capabilities.
In 2024, Thai Union's performance recovered in line with JCR's expectations, excluding expenses associated with the launch of the Company's Strategy 2030 late last year. Strategy 2030 is an ambitious roadmap aimed at achieving significant growth, including increasing net sales to US$7.0 billion by 2030 and doubling earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) from approximately US$400 million to US$700-US$800 million. The strategy is central to Thai Union's vision of becoming the world's leading marine health and nutrition company.
"JCR's reaffirmation of our credit rating is a testament to Thai Union's resilience and our strategic focus on sustainable growth," said Thiraphong Chansiri, CEO at Thai Union Group. "We will build on our momentum by exploring new growth opportunities, maintaining our leadership in sustainability, and further establishing Thai Union as the world's leading marine health and nutrition company."
JCR underscored Thai Union's global diversification. In addition to owning well-known brands - such as Chicken of the Sea in the U.S. and John West and Petit Navire in Europe - the Company operates 13 processing facilities worldwide, including Thailand, the U.S., France, Seychelles, Poland and Vietnam. The ratings agency also noted that OEM contracts with major food companies, which account for over half of Thai Union's sales, offer another stable source of revenue.
In 2023, Thai Union secured a THB 11,485 million Sustainability-Linked financing package, marking the start of the second phase of Thai Union's Blue Finance agenda. The Company aims to increase sustainability-linked finance to 75% of its long-term financing by 2025. Denominated in both Thai baht (THB) and U.S. dollars (USD) across three- and five-year tenors, the financing demonstrates how Thai Union's commitment to ocean-focused sustainability initiatives continues to enable access to sustainable funding.
Source: Thai Union Group