Ital-Thai targets 10% average growth
To support a growth target averaging 10 per cent a year, Ital-Thai Group, which is owned by the Karnasuta family, has revised its strategy to focus on six businesses.
They are construction, trading, hospitality, real estate, engineering, and food and beverages. They now generate revenue of at least Bt50 billion a year. More than Bt40 billion of that is from construction firm Italian-Thai Development. Hospitality business generated Bt3.5 billion last year, or 35 per cent of total revenue of Bt10 billion from the five non-construction businesses of the group.
“We began revising our business groups last year and will complete the process in the middle of this year,” said the group’s director Yuthachai Charanachitta, a member of the third generation of the Karnasuta family.
He said that after the revision was complete, the group targeted growth averaging 10 per cent a year.
Under the new business model, Italian-Thai Development will manage construction business. Italthai Industrial Co will manage trading, while Amari Hotel and Resort Co will manage the hospitality business under the Onyx brand. Engineering business will be conducted by Italthai Engineering Co, while real estate is managed by Amari Estate Co. The food and beverage business will be managed by the franchise business in Singapore taken over by Italthai Group early this year.
Yuthachai, who is also president and chief executive officer of Amari Estate, said that in its real-estate business, the company would focus on developing residential projects and hotels in tourist destinations only, because the company sees strong demand in such locations.
SOUTH IN FOCUS
“We will focus on provincial locations in the southern part of Thailand such as Hua Hin, Phuket, Koh Samui, Phang Nga, and Krabi province,” he said.
Currently, the company owns three property projects. They include Amari Residence Bangkok, which is serviced apartments, and Amari Residence Hua Hin, which offers condominiums and has already sold 85 per cent of the total project value of Bt1.3 billion. The third one is a mixed-use project, Oriental Residence Bangkok, worth Bt3 billion, developed by Thai Construction Asset Co, a joint venture between the Thai Contractors Association and Italian-Thai Development that has 145 serviced apartments and 46 condominium units.
Yuthachai said construction of Amari Residence Hua Hin was complete and would transfer to its customers next month. This will be booked as this year’s revenue.
The company plans to launch another project that combines condominiums and pool villas that it calls Amari Residence Phuket, worth Bt2.5 billion. It is close to Amari Coral Beach Patong. This project will open to presales in the final quarter of the year.
Meanwhile, Amari Estate has budgeted Bt700 million to develop a hotel under the Ozo brand at Chaweng Beach of Koh Samui, Surat Thani province
Yuthachai said Amari Estate’s business strategy would be to launch only one project every two years and focus on developing residences and hotels in tourist destinations. It targets average growth of 10 per cent a year.
Amari Estate saw revenue of Bt100 million last year from its serviced-apartment block, Amari Residence Bangkok.
The company targets total revenue of Bt1.4 billion this year, Bt1.3 billion from Amari Residence Hua Hin, and the rest from the serviced apartments.
