Competing with the latest products, applying international standards to management systems and products, focusing on investment and controlling risks are the right steps Ngo Han Joint Stock Company has taken to gain strong growth in recent years said Mr Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of Finance, Management and Investor Relations, in an interview with the Vietnam Business Forum Magazine.
Could you introduce your company’s operations?
The price and quality of Ngo Han's products have now won the heart of customers. Our product sales reached 21 tonnes worth VND3.1 billion in May 2009.
Using our advantages of established quality and competitive prices, we are building a Southeast Asian export strategy, with our two first distributors in Thailand and Singapore. In the second quarter, the company expects to reach VND293 billion net revenue and VND18.4 billion pre-tax profit.
How can Ngo Han ensure its sustainable development amid growing competitive pressure?
At present, our company has many research and development projects for new products. We are investing in high quality products which were previously all imported, as domestic companies could not produce them. In 2010, Ngo Han marketed a new electric conductor bar, called Busbar. With its outstanding features, sales of Busbar products are expected to reach 305 tonnes worth VND45 billion in 2010. The immediate target is the domestic market.
Under the 2010-2011 plan, Ngo Han will produce high quality motors and sealed busways. Initially, the company will supply high-end motors to D&D, a producer of compressors for world-leading brands. Then, the firm will continue to expand our supply for carmakers and producers of refrigerators, air conditioners, fridges and washing machines.
The lending rate, though lower, is still very high and is a brake on the development of producers. What measures is Ngo Han adopting to mitigate the impact of rising borrowing costs?
Ngo Han actively minimizes the financial costs of volatile exchange and interest rates. The company mainly borrows short-term USD loans with maturity of 3-4 months, while the lending rate of USD loans is quite low and stable in comparison with VND loans. As a result, we can limit our exposure to rising interest rates.
What is Ngo Han’s strategy to minimise the adverse effects of global copper price fluctuations?
Controlling the impact of material prices is crucial for Ngo Han and we are proud to have done well in recent years, especially during the worst economic crisis in many decades, in late 2008 and early 2009. We have adopted numerous tools to minimise price risks, including swap and hedging, in addition to selecting world-leading copper suppliers and using many pegging methods.
Ngo Han is operating at full capacity to reach the production goal of 2,101 tonnes of copper in the second quarter of 2010, while controlling risks of material prices in unstable periods, especially in April and May 2010.
Reported by Huong Ly
Vietnamese
