8月，马来西亚股市刚刚结束了一轮业绩季节，众多上市公司在这段时间内揭晓了它们的财务表现。其中宏诚集团（SUNZEN BIOTECH），是近年来引起我关注的企业，原因在于其多元化的经营模式与布局，让其走出多年的亏损困境。
宏诚集团早年业务主要是动物保健品，自2021财政年的第二季度转亏为盈后，就保持著盈利状况，其中一个因素就在于把业务多元化，如扩展到金融信贷。这一连串的布局，也将集团带入一个新境界。
目前，宏诚集团的主要业务可分为三个领域：动物保健产品、人类保健产品和金融服务。在动物保健领域，面临连年亏损，如果新一代管理层敢于进行重大改革，采取壮士断臂的止损策略，定能扭转局势。这符合商业生存法则，因为选择比努力更为重要。止损亏损业务，卸重轻装重新启航未免不是一件好事。
毕竟，经济学也告诉了我们，资源是有限的，因此必须在不同的选择之间进行权衡。如果没有明智的选择，可能会选择一个机会成本过高的方向，浪费了宝贵资源。
在人类保健领域，宏诚集团旗下的著名品牌是益康生科制造有限公司（Ecolite），生产售卖约300种保健食品，包括燕窝、补腰精、健康饮料等，业务不仅遍布全马，在中国、越南、印尼、新加坡等地也能寻得踪迹。其中，宏诚集团旗下的燕鸣资源有限公司，每年就出口约7吨的燕窝，主要出口到世界上最庞大的燕窝消费国中国。
尤其，新冠疫情大大改变了人们的保健意识，从而提高了对保健产品的需求，这无疑将推动集团的业务成长。根据独立市场调查报告显示，全球营养补充剂市场规模在2022年估计达到了3814.7亿美元（约1.7兆令吉），并预计从2023年到2030年将以6.3%的复合年增长率成长。其中，亚太地区在2022年主导了营养补充剂市场，占据了全球39.4%的市场份额。
金融服务
宏诚集团的另一个值得关注的业务是金融服务，是营收贡献第二大板块，主要来自集团下的Finsource Credit借贷公司。Finsource Credit成立于2015年，后来于2021年被宏诚集团收购，并在《1951年放贷人法令》下运作，提供金融信贷产品，如可高达1000万令吉贷款额和长达8年融资期的商业贷款。
从业务领域的多元化来看，金融信贷的贡献持续扩大，预示著可能在未来崛起成为主要业务。我大胆地推测，有朝一日，宏诚集团可能会更名为宏诚资本（Sunzen Capital），以反映其主要业务，形成金融为主，保健为辅的局面。
总结而言，宏诚集团在不断扩展的业务领域和积极的管理层领导下，表现出了坚实的增长潜力。尽管市场波动不定，但其多元化战略和金融服务领域的崛起，使其成为值得关注的企业。无论如何，投资决策应该始终基于充分的研究和专业咨询，本文仅为信息分享而非投资建议。
郑荣信《宏诚集团柳暗花明又一春？》英文版：A New Dawn for Sunzen Biotech Berhad?
In August, the Malaysian stock market concluded its earnings season, revealing the financial performance of numerous listed companies. One such company that has caught my attention in recent years is Sunzen Biotech Berhad, thanks to its diversified business model and strategic transformation that has pulled it out of years of losses.
Sunzen Biotech's early business primarily revolved around animal health products. However, since turning profitable in the second quarter of the 2021 fiscal year, it has maintained profitability, partly due to diversifying its operations, including expansion into financial credit services. This series of strategic moves has propelled the company into new territory.
Currently, Sunzen Biotech's core businesses can be categorized into three areas: animal health products, human health products, and financial services. In the field of animal health, which had faced consecutive losses, the new management could potentially reverse the situation through bold reforms and implementing stop-loss strategies. This aligns with the business survival principle that choices are more critical than efforts. Exiting loss-making ventures and setting sail anew is often a prudent move.
After all, economics teaches us that resources are limited, necessitating trade-offs between various choices. Without prudent choices, one may select a direction with prohibitively high opportunity costs, wasting precious resources.
In the realm of human health, Sunzen Biotech's subsidiary, Ecolite, is a well-known brand manufacturing and selling approximately 300 health products, including bird's nest, vitality tonics, and health beverages. Its business extends not only across Malaysia but also leaves its footprint in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and more. Notably, Sunzen Biotech's subsidiary, Swiflet Resources, exports about 7 tons of bird's nest annually, primarily to China, the world's largest consumer of bird's nest.
Especially with the significant shift in people's health awareness due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for health products is expected to soar, likely fueling the group's business growth. According to independent market research, the global nutritional supplement market was estimated to reach $381.47 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion Malaysian Ringgit) in 2022 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% from 2023 to 2030. In 2022, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the nutritional supplement market, accounting for 39.4% of the global market share.
Financial Services
Another noteworthy segment of Sunzen Biotech's business is financial services, the second-largest revenue contributor, primarily through its subsidiary Finsource Credit. Finsource Credit, established in 2015 and later acquired by Sunzen Biotech in 2021, operates under the Moneylenders Act 1951, offering financial credit products such as commercial loans with loan amounts of up to RM10 million and financing periods of up to 8 years.
Considering the diversification of its business portfolio, the contribution from financial credit continues to expand, hinting at the possibility of it becoming the primary business in the future. I boldly speculate that someday Sunzen Biotech might rebrand itself as Sunzen Capital to reflect its primary focus on finance, with healthcare as a supplementary aspect.
In conclusion, Sunzen Biotech, under its expanding business scope and proactive leadership, demonstrates solid growth potential. Despite market volatility, its diversification strategy and the emergence of financial services make it a company worth watching. Nonetheless, investment decisions should always be based on thorough research and professional advice, as this article is for informational purposes rather than investment advice.
