Modernform gears up for surge in furniture demand

CEO Thaksa Busayapoka said yesterday that the company’s factory would run at full capacity on Monday, after it was curtailed to 70 per cent due mainly to the impact from the floods, even though its office buildings and plants were not soaked.
Furniture damage should be counted in billions of baht, as part of total damages worth Bt250 billion nationwide, he said.
To help flood victims, the company would slash the prices of its furniture products by 20-60 per cent.
Besides standard pieces, the company would start selling hundreds of “value sets” on December 9. There are sets for office, home and kitchen, all at discounts of 40-60 per cent.
Though its costs have increased by 5-15 per cent, prices would not be raised until the end of January.
The company expects revenue for the full year to fall 20-25 per cent short of the Bt3.5-billion target because of an estimated 20-per-cent drop in sales year on year this quarter.
“The company’s sales in the past few months have not declined in terms of orders. A drop in sales has occurred because of a delay in deliveries due to the heavy floods,” he said.
Modernform posted Bt282.95 million in consolidated net profit for the first nine months, down from Bt287.19 million in the same period last year. Net profit in the third quarter was 54.83 million against Bt116.47 million last year.
The flood would cause a 3-6-month disruption in the furniture business. Sales would rebound in |the first quarter next year and ac-|celerate in the second quarter.
“We expect the furniture market in the second quarter to grow by 15-20 per cent on year," he said.
The company has received several orders from plants in inundated industrial estates to replace their old furniture damaged by water.
Orders of home furniture are good for condominium projects but poor for houses.
The total furniture market, including exports, is expected to expand by 15 per cent next year from Bt40 billion to Bt50 billion this year, he added.