“Over the past three years we have been strengthening our foundations, consolidating our operations, and diversifying our portfolio across different geographies and business models to position ourselves for sustainable and profitable growth.”

Dear shareholders and stakeholders,

Suphajee Suthumpun
Group Chief Executive Officer

The hospitality industry is, by its very nature, a capital intensive business which requires continuous investment in existing properties to maintain their competitive advantage. Because of this, it is essential that we, as a hospitality company, embrace innovation as our modus operandi and constantly seek ways to enhance revenue creation so we can maintain and enhance our property portfolio while delivering value to share- holders – especially while our flagship hotel, Dusit Thani Bangkok, is redeveloped as part of a landmark mixed-use project.

In this regard, over the past three years we have been strengthening our foundations, consolidating our operations, and diversifying our portfolio across different geographies and business models to position ourselves for sustainable and profitable growth.

At year-end, Dusit Thani Public Company Limited reported THB 290 million net profit and 5,565 million total revenue. The profit represents an 8.6% increase on the THB 267 million posted in 2017.

Demonstrating the strength of our multi-year strategy,which completed its first stage in 2018, the growth in profit was achieved despite the absence of revenue from Dusit Princess Korat, which was divested in 2017, and non-recurring expenses in relation to the redevelopment and temporary closure of Dusit Thani Bangkok. This included investing in the hotel’s team to deliver a legendary closure for the hotel while preparing to launch new business models following our no lay-off policy. And they succeeded admirably.

Outside of Dusit Thani Bangkok, I am happy we achieved several significant milestones throughout the year that will pave the way for enhanced value creation going forward.

Besides continuing to enhance our presence in Asia-Pacific with the opening of six new properties, including entering the new markets of Bhutan and Vietnam, we continued to plant flags in gateway cities via asset-light Hotel Management and Franchise agreements across MEA, APAC, and China. This raised our tally of properties in the pipeline to 64. We also began exploring options for lucrative lease agreements in Australia, Europe, and Japan.

To address ever-changing consumer tastes in this age of digital disruption, we continued to expand our operations across the lodging spectrum to offer experiences for our guests beyond our typical full-service brands.

This included launching ASAI Hotels, an affordable lifestyle brand designed to link the fast-growing market of millennial(and millennial-minded)travellers with authentic local experiences in the world’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. This market is currently valued at more than USD 280 billion, and set to grow to USD 400 billion by 2020, according to UNWTO. At the end of 2018,ASAI already had five properties in the pipeline across Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines.

To further meet the evolving needs of our guests, we also officially entered the luxury vacation rental sector with the full acquisition of Elite Havens, the leading provider of high-end villa rentals in Asia, which brought a network of more than 200 fully staffed properties across Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, and the Maldives, into our portfolio.

Looking beyond the scope of our core business with a view to adding value through synergistic partnerships, we established Dusit Foods Co., Ltd. to focus on upstream investments with strong growth potential. This included investing in NR Instant Produce (NRIP) Co., Ltd. a leading producer and exporter of ready-to-cook sauces, seasoning powders, and soft drinks, where we saw the potential to leverage our own experience in food and beverage services to drive additional revenue and enhance our brand presence.

Together with NRIP, we established Dusit Gourmet Co., Ltd. This joint venture promises to ‘Bring Asia to the World’ by creating, marketing and selling Dusit-branded, organic food products worldwide. Synergising with our core business, the venture also aims to standardise certain recipes at our signature hotel restaurants, ultimately maintaining consistency and driving cost efficiency at all of our properties.

Another important development was the introduction of short F&B and Hotel Management courses at Dusit Thani College and the Dusit Thani Excellence Centre in Bangkok. Designed to respond to the decline in college student enrollments for degree programmes seen worldwide, and to address the imbalance in skilled labour supply and demand in the tourism sector, these short courses have broad appeal.Alongside meeting the needs of those who wish to upskill or reskill with a view to enter the F&B industry, they also meet the needs of restaurant, hotel and tourism operators looking for an effective and efficient way to train their staff. The increased reach of these courses now provides a strong foundation for growth as we expand Dusit Hospitality Education worldwide.

The first steps to any journey are always the most significant, and in everything we do – whether it is launching a new brand, investing in a new line of business, restructuring our asset portfolio, or redeveloping our flagship hotel – we will always ensure we are equipped to go the distance by considering all potential risks and outcomes to deliver long-term value for all our stakeholders – guests, customers, owners, investors, and employees alike.

In 2019 we will officially enter the second stage of our strategic journey – realising our potential. With several hotels set to open worldwide under asset-light models, a new Dusit Thani College opening in Manila, Philippines, and with further consolidation of our food business, we expect to achieve positive revenue growth that will compensate for the temporary closure of Dusit Thani Bangkok and position us for even greater success to come.

The seeds for exponential growth have been planted. We look forward to nurturing them to fruition while delivering unique experiences inspired by our heritage, and creating a sustainable and profitable future for us all. On behalf of everyone at the company, I graciously thank you for your continued support.



Graciously yours,

Suphajee Suthumpun
Group Chief Executive Officer