PAN : will secure its first order with Walmart China

The leadership of The PAN Group (ticker: PAN) has recently shared some "good news" with shareholders about its confectionery business, notably the potential first order from Walmart China.

Successfully entering China's leading retail system will open up strong development prospects for PAN Group's confectionery segment. (Photo: CNN)

At the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on April 26, 2024 of PAN, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hoang, a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Bibica JSC (ticker: BBC), shared various good updates to shareholders.

Bibica, a confectionery-focused subsidiary of The PAN Group, is well-known both domestically and internationally for its diverse product offerings.

According to Mr. Hoang, despite the global economy facing modest growth, high inflation, and complex geopolitical conflicts, Bibica's export revenue in 2023 climbed by 52% over 2022, and this growth trend is expected to continue positively this year.

Bibica's products are currently exported to 18 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and China, which are all highly competitive markets.

Specifically, Mr. Hoang said that Bibica just passed the evaluation of Walmart China, a branch of the world's leading retail system Walmart. As a result, Bibica anticipates receiving its first order to provide confectionery products to Walmart China's retail network.

According to the Industrial and Commercial Journal, Walmart China currently runs over 400 supermarkets throughout the country, accounting for nearly 6% of the modern retail market share. Successful entry into Walmart China is expected to "open doors" for Bibica's products to expand further into this market.

With a scale reaching 1.4 billion consumers and geographical proximity to Vietnam, China is identified as a key market for Bibica in the near future.

Mr. Hoang shared: "After thorough research, we found that the Chinese market is suitable for developing fresh baked goods with short shelf life and nutritious health-friendly products, especially for diabetics."

These product lines can leverage Bibica's strengths in production technology, research and development capabilities, and raw material sources.

The PAN Group's leadership chaired the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

Additionally, PAN's leaders also highlighted that the export of various nuts and mixed nuts products is expected to grow by 10-15% this year as sales to traditional partners in China and Hong Kong (China) fully recover.

Bibica's leaders believe that with a strong market share in its domestic market of over 100 million consumers, the company has the scale and competitive advantages to overcome quality barriers in export markets.

According to Bibica's 2023 annual report, the company currently has 150,000 sales points in general trade channels and over 8,000 sales points in modern trade channels across 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

This year, Bibica aims to achieve net revenue of VND 1,750 billion and pre-tax profit of VND 110.4 billion, representing increases of 18% and 4% compared to 2023, respectively. If this plan is carried out, it will mark the highest revenue in the company's history.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, Bibica reported net revenue of VND 360 billion, a 152% increase y-o-y, and a pre-tax profit of VND 174 billion, 58 times higher than the first quarter of 2023.

Thus, after the first quarter, Bibica has achieved 20.6% of its annual revenue target and 16% of its annual pre-tax profit target.