Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, President of The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), revealed that as of August 17, 2004, 416 listed companies on the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI), or 96% of the total 433 listed companies, have submitted their 6-month financial statements ending June 30, 2004. During the first half of 2004, listed companies recorded total net profits worth THB 187,277 million, or a 29% increase.
“84% of the SET-listed companies (339 out of 403 listed companies) posted total profits of THB 187,025 million, a 29% increase over the same period last year. The remaining 64 companies (16%) reported net losses. Concerning the MAI-listed companies, 11 out of the 13 listed companies showed total profits of THB 252 million or a 17% increase over last year,” Mr. Kittiratt said.
Companies in the SET50 earned THB 148,453 million in net profits or 79% of the total. This amount accounted for a 38% increase over the same period last year, due to the quantity and prices of goods being sold rose at a faster rate than the total costs. Total sales grew by 16% while the gross margin rate increased 26%. The top five most profitable SET50 companies includes PTT Pcl. (PTT), Siam Cement Pcl. (SCC), Siam Commercial Bank Pcl. (SCB), Advanced Info Service Pcl. (ADVANC), and the Bangkok Bank Pcl. (BBL).
The 368 listed companies in 8 industry groups saw total net profits of THB 185,870 million, or 99% of the overall net profits of all listed companies. Summarizing in order of greatest net profits, the eight industry groups are as follows:
- Financials Industry Group: (consists of 60 listed companies in the banking, finance and securities, and insurance sectors). This industry group saw net profits of THB 43,429 million, a 20% growth over the same period last year.
- Resources Industry Group: (comprised of the energy & utility sector and the mining sectors). This group’s combined net profits of THB 42,563 million were an increase of 37% over the same period last year. This increase is due to a 20% jump in sales as a result of economic expansion, hence energy consumption, and as well as a 15% drop in interest expenses.
- Property & Construction Industry Group: (consists of the property development and the building & furnishing materials sectors). This group saw net profits of THB 35,931 million, a 38% surge over last year. This was due to a 21% rise in sales resulted from higher demand in the building and furnishing materials domestically as well as higher prices of the materials. A 22% drop in interest expenses was also a favourable factor.
- Services Industry Group: (consisted of 8 sectors) posting a combined net profit of THB 23,369 million, a 51% jump over last year was a result of a 20% sales growth. The transportation sector accounted for 57% of the Group’s total net profits. This sector’s sales rose 26%, with its gross profits up from 16% to 24% due to the rising demand for services and increased charges for water transportation.
- Technology Industry Group: (consists of the communication, electronic components, and electrical products & computer sectors) This group’s combined net profits amounted to THB 21,151 million, which was only 1% increase over the same period last year. The sales grew at 21% while the costs of sales were up 24%; the gross profit margin was thus reduced from 26% to 23%. The communication sector, accounted for 77% of the industry group’s overall net profits.
- Industrials Industry Group: posting a combined net profit of THB 12,453 million, a 22% increase over last year. This rise was attributed to a 54% increase in profits of the chemicals and plastics sector (which accounted for 71% of the group’s overall net profits) as the petrochemical prices are on an upward trend.
- Agro & Food Industry Group: (consists of 41 listed companies in the agribusiness and food & beverage sectors). This group saw a combined net profit of THB 4,141 million, a 9 percent drop compared to last year. The food and beverage sector posted a 28% drop in net profits, with gross profits down from 23% last year to 19% this year. This decline was due to an upward adjustment in raw material prices. The agribusiness, on the other hand, posted a 75% increase in profits due to a 9% increase in sales. The sector’s gross profit margin was up from 9% to 11%, and its net profits accounted for 35% of the Agro & Food Industry Group.
- Consumer Products Industry Group: This group posted net profits of THB 2,833 million, a 1.8% drop from last year. This was due to only 1% rise in sales while the costs of sales outgrew at 1.1%.
The Financials Group, which consists of 60 commercial banks, finance and securities companies, and insurance companies, saw total net profits of THB 43,429 million, a 20% jump from the same period last year. The Group’s net profits accounted for 23% of overall listed companies’ profits.
The banking sector, consisting of 12 commercial banks and the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand (IFCT) posted THB 38,090 million net profits, a 29% rise from THB 29,627 million in the first 6 months of 2003. This was mainly due to a 23% increase in interest income and net dividends, a 2% increase in non-interest income, a 3% credit expansion and interest, and a 6% increase in deposits and loans.
16 companies in the finance and securities sector (excluding hire-purchase and leasing companies) posted net profits of THB 1,820 million, a 55% decrease from THB 4,080 million during the same period last year. The securities companies posted net losses of THB 2,549 million, a significant 661% greater loss than over the same period last year. This substantial loss was due to the Asia Plus Securities’ amortization of investment costs by THB 4,460 million in excess of the fair value. Therefore, if Asia Plus Securities was excluded, the securities sector would have posted THB 1,559 million in net profits.
The insurance sector saw a combined net profit of THB 1,798 million, a 31% increase over the same period last year. The main factor contributing to this improvement was a 43% increase in revenues on investment in securities, or THB 605 million, as a result of portfolio adjustments for equity and debt instruments. Insurance premiums rose by THB 2,874 million, or a 27% increase over the same period last year.
As of August 17, 2004, 81% (35 out of 43 companies) of the companies under rehabilitation (REHABCO) posted a combined net profit of THB 1,155 million, a significant 156% jump from the losses of THB 2,077 in the same period last year. This was due to strong sales of THB 31,595 million, a 54% rise over last year, as well as from profits after debt restructuring amounting to THB 3,293 million, while they faced THB 1,228 million in losses last year.
As for the progress of debt restructuring, total outstanding debts of the listed companies in this group amounted to THB 236,300 million, a THB 4,020 million decrease from THB 240,320 million at the end of 2003. The following is a summary of events from January 1 to August 17, 2004:
- A total of 14 companies were trading in the REHABCO group. No additional companies were allowed to trade in the group.
- 3 companies were moved to the group—Tuntex Thailand Pcl. (TUNTEX), Bangkok Rubber Pcl. (BRC), and Srithai Food & Beverage Pcl. (SRI).
- 3 companies were removed from the group, and are trading in their regular sectors — EMC Pcl. (EMC), Natural Park Pcl. (N-PARK) and Millennium Steel Pcl. (MS). (Raimon Land Pcl. (RAIMON) will be reinstated to the property development sector of the Property & Construction Group on August 20, 2004)
