Refrigerators, freezers lead Walton sales
Walton Hi-tech Industries' portfolio is diversified, ranging from home appliances to electric and electronic products, but the items that sell the most are its refrigerators and freezers.
In fiscal year 2021-22, sales of the local consumer electronics giant grew 16.77 per cent year-on-year to Tk 8,168 crore.
Refrigerators and freezers alone contributed 68.9 per cent of the company's revenue, or Tk 5,623 crore, according to its annual report for fiscal 2021-22.
In the previous year, the contribution was 72 per cent or Tk 5,216 crore.
In the fiscal year that concluded recently, Walton sold 24.69 lakh freezers and refrigerators, 92,215 air conditioning units and 4.83 lakh televisions.
Walton is working to improve the contribution of other products in its revenue as it is well informed about the dominance of the cold storage units in the portfolio, said Company Secretary Md Rafiqul Islam.
"The board of directors also instructed us to work on it," he said.
Freezer, refrigerator and compressor sales grew by 11.53 per cent, air conditioning unit 21.77 per cent, television 11.44 per cent, electrical appliance 62.18 per cent and home appliance 53.62 per cent in the fiscal year that ended on June 30.
Islam attributed the rise in the sale of freezers and refrigerators to winning people's confidence through their quality, reasonable price and after-sales service.
The product has continued to sell in the market for long and so, it is a tested product among consumers, who now prefer local products, for which Walton was witnessing its high sales, he said.
"Many other local companies are selling products importing parts from China whereas we manufacture freezes and refrigerators here, so the price of our products is much more competitive," he added.
Islam went on to say that Walton currently controls more than 70 per cent of the total market share in terms of annual sales of the local refrigerator industry.
Although Walton's net revenue advanced 16.7 per cent in the recently ended fiscal year, its net profit dropped 25.78 per cent to Tk 1,216 crore.
The company's profits dropped due to the price hike of raw materials and freight cost in international markets, devaluation of the local currency against foreign currencies and increase of sale and distribution expenses due to the achievement of desired sales, the company said in its financial report.
Moreover, the countrywide lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic from July 23 to August 5 of 2021 and natural calamities, such as flooding, adversely impacted attainment of the desired sales volume, it said.
All of these affected the net profit margin, it added.
To adjust to the higher costs of raw materials and devalued currency, Walton has already reset the prices of finished goods, the impact of which will be apparent in the upcoming quarters, Islam said.
Walton began its journey in 2006 manufacturing refrigerators and freezers, air conditioning units and television products.
It subsequently expanded its operations to compressors and electrical, home and kitchen appliances. Walton also recently started manufacturing elevators.
Stocks of Walton traded at Tk 1,047 at Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.