Sime Darby sees smooth road
Sime Darby (Thailand), the automotive arm of Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd, remains committed to Thailand despite the country’s bearish automotive market and sluggish performance.
Managing director Steven Teo Chin Hun said the company would spend 50-60 million baht to open its first body and paint shop Thailand in the second half of this year.
It is also spending 20 million baht on a sixth outlet for the Mazda brand that is due to open next year.
Sime Darby entered Thailand in 2001 as a Chevrolet dealer, operating three showrooms that have now closed.
Apart from automotive business, the Malaysian parent also operates a palm oil manufacturer and distributor named Morakot Industries Plc.
Its Thai unit operates 10 showrooms and service centres in Bangkok — two for BMW, five for Mazda and three for Ford. Its third Ford outlet opened last Thursday with an investment of 20 million baht.
Despite the expiry of the first-time car buyer scheme, Thailand’s automotive market remains promising, Mr Teo said.
With about 13.8 million vehicles, Thailand is considered a big market for Sime Darby to operate service centres here.
Mr Teo forecast sales in the Thai market would increase slightly to about 900,000 vehicles this year, compared with 881,832 vehicles last year when the figure fell by 33.7%.
A positive impact from economic growth will boost vehicle sales in the second half but first-half sales will remain tepid, he said.
Sime Darby (Thailand) expects its vehicle sales to increase by only a single digit this year.
Last year, its sales dropped by 10% to 4,500 vehicles from its three brands. In 2013, it sold 5,000 vehicles.
Sime Darby Bhd has now five core businesses — plantations, property, industrial, motors, and energy and utilities.
Its other businesses are health care, consumer products and insurance broking and services in 20 countries.
Group revenue for its 2014 fiscal year totalled 43.9 billion ringgit (385 billion baht), down 4.8%, for a net profit of 3.35 billion ringgit, down 9.4%.