Cambodian-listed Taiwanese garment manufacturer Grand Twins International (Cambodia) Plc (GTI) reported an overall decline in business performance in the first quarter of the year – ended March 31 – amid a global slowdown in demand fuelled by the prolonged Ukraine conflict.

In a June 6 filing to the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), GTI posted revenue and profit before income tax of 64.667 billion riel ($15.8 million) and 550.090 million riel for the January-March quarter, down 42.25 per cent and down 73.19 per cent year-on-year from 111.978 billion riel and 2.051 billion riel.

The firm reported negative comprehensive income of 96.583 million riel for the quarter, compared to a positive 1.117 billion riel in the year-ago period.

As of March 31, total assets and total equity stood at 342.741 billion riel and 280.858 billion riel, down 1.99 per cent and down 1.56 per cent year-on-year from 349.689 billion riel and 285.319 billion riel.

“Since the date of incorporation [on November 15,] 2007, Grand Twins has produced and expanded [its] product [portfolio] to meet customers’ require[ments] … as a leading garment manufacturer in Cambodia,” GTI chairman Yang Shaw-Shin said in the filing.

“We strongly believe” in our ability to create, develop and distribute goods to customers “all over the world”, he added.

“[We’ll continue] to maintain good relationship[s] with our main customers, in order to [receive] more purchase order[s] in 2023, meanwhile, [we’ll] continuously collaborate with other customers to increase our other revenues such as from subcontract[s] and CMP” to increase revenues on-year, he said, likely referring to the cut-make-pack (CMP) business model.

“For further quarters of 2023, we will commit to [enhancing] our corporate governance and accomplish[ing] our vision and mission. Our target is to [achieve] higher profit[s compared to] previous years,” Yang said.

The filing noted that the company adopted its current legal name after becoming a public limited company on February 19, 2013, and that on July 16, 2018, it acquired major garment manufacturer QMI Industrial Co Ltd, which had been operating in the Kingdom since the 1990s.

On June 16, 2014, the firm became only the CSX’s second listing, raising 77.12 billion riel through an initial public offering (IPO), according to the local bourse’s website.

GTI buys raw materials from mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, the filing said, adding without elaborating that, in the January-March quarter, “our export destinations include[d] countries in Europe 58 per cent, [the] United State[s] 26 per cent, Asia and other countries 16 per cent of total revenue”.

“We have a specialised management team who has many years of experience in the apparel industry, as well as advanced manufacturing technology to ensure production efficiency,” it boasted.