Great piece. The field research is what makes it. The Borsch Med price gap and the dusty Sensorial Therapy shelf are exactly what management commentary doesn't capture.
One nuance: Healthcare profit before tax still grew +7% despite the revenue decline. If competitors are winning on price, you'd expect margin pressure too. Unless Tiger Balm is deliberately conceding the low end, which could be rational, or it could be masking early-stage share erosion that hasn't hit earnings yet.
Either way, the -18% H2 swing is too sharp for consumer sentiment alone to explain.
The PBT increase was largely driven by cuts to distribution and marketing expenses. While it's an easy short-term lever to pull, underinvesting in marketing doesn't bode well for future growth.
A cleaner metric for competitive intensity might be gross profit margin. It has not recovered to pre-COVID levels.
I believe Tiger Balm will still be around for a long time, just as it had been around for more than 100 years.
It's just that the competition will likely be more intense.
Hey man, cool stuff!
The SEA Analyst, thanks for your analysis
"Tiger Balm revenue declined 6.9% in FY2025"
Why do you think the revenue declined in FY2025?
Management's explanation is quite generic: weaker consumer sentiment and weaker tourism spending.
I suspect stronger competition and weak performance of new products also contributed to the revenue decline.
I discuss the details here: https://angsanaanderson.substack.com/p/haw-par-right-for-the-wrong-reasons?r=5rl2u5
Thanks
Great piece. The field research is what makes it. The Borsch Med price gap and the dusty Sensorial Therapy shelf are exactly what management commentary doesn't capture.
One nuance: Healthcare profit before tax still grew +7% despite the revenue decline. If competitors are winning on price, you'd expect margin pressure too. Unless Tiger Balm is deliberately conceding the low end, which could be rational, or it could be masking early-stage share erosion that hasn't hit earnings yet.
Either way, the -18% H2 swing is too sharp for consumer sentiment alone to explain.
Thanks for your kind words.
The PBT increase was largely driven by cuts to distribution and marketing expenses. While it's an easy short-term lever to pull, underinvesting in marketing doesn't bode well for future growth.
A cleaner metric for competitive intensity might be gross profit margin. It has not recovered to pre-COVID levels.
I believe Tiger Balm will still be around for a long time, just as it had been around for more than 100 years.
It's just that the competition will likely be more intense.