Singer still keen on ‘hire purchase’ upcountry

 SINGER Thailand will continue to focus on dominating the appliance hire-purchase (lease to own) business in rural areas even though sales upcountry weakened last year from lower agriculture prices and high household debt.
Nonglak Laksanapokin, chief |executive officer, said in a report to the Stock Exchange of Thailand that Singer kept exploring opportunities through SG Capital Company by offering financing of multiple brands through dealers.
The company keeps developing more marketing activities and campaigns with strategic partners such as Jaymart, Saha and True, she said. 
It keeps expanding its repair and maintenance business by offering this service to non-Singer appliances for home and commercial customers with the view to build the Singer name in the service business through SG Service Plus Company.
The group is upgrading 20,000 vending machines to a new server to generate more income from selling airtime.
Singer will enter the non-life insurance business under the name SG Broker Company this year after receiving a non-life insurance broker’s licence from the Insurance Commission last June.
The company’s net profit dived to Bt119.81 million last year from Bt143.15 million in 2015 because of the subdued recovery in domestic demand.
Its revenue shrank by 25 per cent to Bt2.54 billion last year after sales of goods plunged 32.8 per cent and interest from hire-purchase contracts declined 18.6 per cent.
The drop in sales was seen mainly in commercial products, as sales of electrical appliances increased.
Sales of all main products were down except petrol-station vending machines, sewing machines and air coolers because of lower public spending, weak exports, lower agriculture prices and higher household debts. 
Net hire-purchase receivables at the end of last year contracted to Bt1.95 billion, while hire-purchase accounts receivable rose to 181,253 from 159,813 at the end of 2015.
The increase of 21,440 accounts was the result of 106,248 hire-purchase contracts opened and 84,808 hire-purchase contracts closed. 
To maintain their own liquidity for paying instalments, 2,490 hire-purchase accounts receivable entered a refinancing scheme.
The product sales mix was 40:35:25 for home appliances, commercial products and mobile devices because of the group’s policy to be stricter with credit criteria, particularly for high-value commercial products, until the economy has improved.