Jittiporn Chantarat, Chief Executive Officer of Exotic Food Public Company Limited, or XO, disclosed that operating results in the second half of 2026 will accelerate clearly, with third-quarter 2026 sales expected to grow about 12-15%, while the fourth quarter of 2026 also remains on a good trend thanks to forward orders of about five weeks. This gives the company confidence that full-year 2026 sales will grow 10% as planned, despite expenses of about 70-80 million baht for destroying chilies. The main driver comes from the European market, where customer inventories have declined and sales have clearly recovered, while the US market has remaining sales of less than 10 million baht, down from more than 500 million baht in 2023 and less than 100 million baht in 2024, meaning US import tariff measures have no significant impact. As for the investment plan for a new factory, it will use about 1.3 billion baht, with roughly 70% borrowed from financial institutions and the rest from cash flow. It is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2028 and to begin exports from the third quarter of 2028. The new factory will replace the old plant and support sales of about 4.2 billion baht when operating two shifts, with potential to rise to about 8 billion baht. For 2027, the company plans a marketing budget of about 5% of sales, expects sales to continue growing 5-10%, and aims to raise its gross profit margin to about 45% from 40%.
Exotic Food Public Company LimitedPlans 1.3 billion baht new factory (70% debt-financed) to replace old plant and support up to 8 billion baht in sales, plus aims to lift gross margin to 45% from 40%.
