Herbs of Gold, Vita Health maker reports record revenue in Australia and Malaysia

The company said in its financial results published in March that revenue in Australia was up 23 per cent to AUD$37.33m (US$24.79m) and an increase of 11 per cent to AUD$21.39m (US$14.21m) was seen in Malaysia between year 2021 and 2022.

The record revenue was due to higher consumer demand in Australia’s health food and pharmacy channels and the rising popularity of the brands VitaHealth and Herbs of Gold in Malaysia.

As a whole, the company said revenue was up 17.1 per cent to AUD$66.89m (US$44.42m) – which it said was “slightly above expectations” ​and reflected the ongoing demand for the firm’s complementary medicines across major markets.

Gross profit was also up from AUD$34.81m (US$23.12m) to AUD$39.74m (US$26.39m).  However, net profit after tax was down 11 per cent to AUD$7.34m (US$4.88m) .

In Australia, the company has been focusing on growing the Herbs of Gold brand across the pharmacy channels​, which it believes is the key reason for the brand’s growth.

Last year, the domestic health food and pharmacy channels delivered 18 per cent growth on the back of higher consumer demand and new customer acquisition, the firm said.

Prior to that, Herbs of Gold was only sold in traditional health foods stores, but the firm decided to transition it to the larger pharmacy market due to higher brand recognition.

In Malaysia, growth was driven by both Herbs of Gold and VitaHealth – a Singapore brand acquired by the company in 2000 and is sold in South East Asia.

“The Malaysian market continued to demonstrate resilience against stronger economic and competitive pressures,”​ said the firm.

Down south in Singapore, revenue was up four per cent to AUD$5.83m (US$3.87m), which was described as a slow recovery.

“The Singaporean market was slow to recover post COVID due to lower levels of tourism,” ​the firm said.  

Across other parts of South East Asia, revenue from Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia was up 15 per cent to AUD$2.34m (US$1.55m), which the firm attributed to “good growth”​ in Vietnam. 

In their most recent financial results, other Australian supplement brands had also announced good growth in the domestic market.

Swisse for example, said that its growth in Australia and New Zealand had outpaced industry growth​. The brand’s retail scan sales were up 12.9 per cent, versus the 7.4 per cent industry wide growth based on data from IQVIA.

Blackmores, on the other hand, saw revenue in Australia and New Zealand climbed 3.9 per cent​ to AUD$150.8m (US$102m).

Inventory​

One reason driving revenue growth is the increased inventory.

As of December 2022, the firm had an inventory worth AUD$15.4m (US$10.23m), which was 36 per cent higher than the same period in 2021. The inventory was able to handle six months’ worth of sales requirement.

The firm said that the increase in inventory had allowed it to meet increased consumer demand and minimise stock outages.