Walton going big abroad
Will open branches, liaison offices in four countries
Walton Hi-Tech Industries yesterday made public the good news of its surging profits and plans to strengthen its footprint abroad, leading to a three per cent rise of its stocks.
The listed local electronic giant decided to open either branches or liaison offices in India, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea which not only would expand its market and help source technologies.
"We are already sending our products to these countries but now we want to strengthen our market share there," said Managing Director Golam Murshed.
Special marketing and service teams will work in those offices to attain the upgradation target of becoming one of the top five global electronics giants within 2030, he said.
South Korea will enable research and development of products, he said.
Its board of directors also decided to invest $500,000 in the Walton Corporation United States of America to purchase ordinary and preferential shares, subject to approval of Bangladesh Bank and other relevant regulators.
The aforementioned company will provide import, export and procurement services in North America, Walton Hi-Tech Industries said in a Dhaka Stock Exchange web post.
"In the US, we have started to provide products to the American e-commerce giant Amazon," said Murshed, adding that now that effort would be advanced further.
The company's stocks surged 2.97 per cent to Tk 1,286 crore after the news broke on the DSE website.
Between July 2020 and March 2021, its profits rose 34 per cent to Tk 1,029 crore.
During that period, its sales rose 18.6 per cent year-on-year to Tk 4,291 crore.
About the profits, Murshed said people's confidence on the company boosted sales.
The demand for freezers, air-conditioners and home appliances was higher this year while televisions topped those being exported, he said.
Earlier last February, Walton decided to make a fresh investment of $640 million, equivalent to Tk 5,440 crore, to expand facilities to produce and increase export of electrical and electronic goods.
With it, the company sought 300 acres of land at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram.
Now Walton has an over 20,000-strong workforce in 22 production bases on 680 acres of factory area at Chandra, Gazipur.