Ubon Bio Ethanol Plc (UBE), an integrated tapioca player with core products of ethanol, tapioca starch and cassava flour, and other agricultural products, revealed its success in implementing its "UBEYOND" strategy.
This strategy includes addressing challenges in operations with a focus on operational excellence, driving innovation, R&D and prioritising sustainable business practices.
As a result, in the first quarter of 2024, the company's total revenue reached 1.89 billion baht, marking an increase of 391.1 million baht, up by 26.1% year-on-year.
Net profit tallied 107 million baht.
The company plans to strengthen its operations with the Food Innovation Center, a new initiative aimed at developing high-value food products.
In addition, the company has undergone a carbon footprint assessment as part of its goal to become a carbon-neutral organisation by 2050. This aligns with the company's commitment to economic, social and environmental (ESG) principles.
Ms Sureeyot said UBE posted a net profit of 107 million baht in the first quarter of 2024.
Sureeyot Khowsurat, chief executive of UBE, said the profitability achieved in the first quarter resulted from following the UBEYOND strategic plan, which covers all aspects of business operations.
The strategy comprises three aspects.
1) Beyond the Challenges: Through an efficient business operations plan, the company has overcome challenges and enhanced its market share while advancing towards new business opportunities.
The company elevated its opera- tional excellence strategy by optimising production processes from raw material management to internal operations efficiency, focusing on cost control, loss reduction and digital transformation.
2) Beyond through Innovation: This involves aligning with the innovation roadmap and fostering research and development efforts from internal research units and through collaboration with external partners, including both public and private sectors.
3) Beyond Sustainability: This entails conducting business according to ESG principles, and ensuring sustainability across all dimensions throughout the product lifecycle.
"Despite the economic slowdown and the weather affecting material costs due to fluctuations in crop yields in early 2024, the ability to return to profitability in the first quarter is evidence of our steadfast commitment to rigorous and effective execution of the strategic plans," Ms Sureeyot said.
"The determination to elevate all internal production processes to operational excellence is noteworthy. This enables us to achieve our plans and simultaneously enables us to maintain a stable supply of raw materials in our stock, sufficient to meet production demands throughout the year."
Customer orders in the starch and flour business have increased, leading to a consistent uptick in export volume.
Additionally, the firm has capitalised on elevated selling prices of tapioca starch, coupled with yields from the 2024/25 harvest season, which will further bolster their production lines.