The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) President, Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, revealed that as of March 4, 2003, 389 listed companies on the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI), or 98% of 398 listed companies, submitted their financial statements for 2002, ending December 31, 2002. 306 companies, or 79% of listed companies which submitted their financial statements, posted net profit. While 83 companies, or 21%, posted net losses.
"Listed companies posted total net profits of B197,916 million, which is an increase of 34% compared to 2001's performance of B148,002 million net profit. Of the 383 listed companies on the SET, 302 companies saw net profits of B197,846 million, a jump of 34% compared to the same period the previous year, which saw net profits of B147,887 million. Of the six companies on the MAI, four saw net profit while two saw net losses. The total net profits amounted to B70 million," Mr. Kittiratt said.
In the industrial and service sectors, which make up the majority of companies on the SET (excluding financial institutions and companies in the REHABCO sector), 297 listed companies saw improved performance. In 2002 they saw net profits of B170,872 million, which is an increase of 54%, compared to 2001, which saw profits of B111,187 million. The increase in revenue can be attributed to sales boost, initial profit jumps, lower interest rates, which means less interest payment burden for companies, along with profits from debt restructuring of B22,269 million, an increase of 49% year-on-year.
The SET President said, "25 sectors out of 31 sectors saw net profit. The first five sectors with the highest profits are the energy, commerce, building and furnishing materials, property development, and transportation sectors. They saw a combined net profit of B121,535 million, which is 71% of the net profit of companies in the industrial and service sectors. The top three sectors with net losses are mining, machinery and equipment, and textile clothing and footwear sectors, with a combined loss of B1,415 million."
In 2002, the 13 commercial banks and the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand saw a combined net profit of B10,814 million, which is an increase of 210% from the previous year, which saw a net loss of THB9,797 million (after subtracting the special transaction of Siam City Bank Plc or SCIB).
"The performance of finance and securities companies showed signs of improvement. Sixteen out of 18 companies posted better earnings. In 2002, they had a combined net profit of B4,962 million, which is an improvement from the previous year's net profit by 53% in an amount of B3,236 million because of an increase of 52% from interest rate revenues and dividend payments.
"Listed companies in the securities business also saw improved earnings, with net profit of B1,661 million in 2002, from a net loss of B80 million in the previous year due to a minimum commission fee rate , " Mr. Kittiratt said.
"Forty-five out of 51 listed companies in the REHABCO sector submitted their 2002 financial statements. Twenty-one companies saw net profit while 24 saw net losses. The net profit totaled B9,520 million, which is an increase from the previous year's net loss of B3,070 million. This is because companies received an increased profit from exchange rate fluctuations at 193% or B1,936 million while exchange rate fluctuations caused them a net loss of B2,077 million the previous year. The companies also had lower interest payment burden by 21% or B5,197 million and enjoyed a profit from debt restructuring of B23,402 million, which is lower than the previous year by 34%.
As of December 31, 2002, of the 391 listed companies that carried out debt restructuring 147 companies reported advancements in their debt restructuring processes. The companies have total debt of B1,139,578 million, of which B1,030,868 million has already been successfully restructured. This is an increase of 10.48% from the end of December 2002. Of all the restructured debts, 41 companies had their debt restructured by the Central Bankruptcy Court, with total debt amount of B522,083 million or 51% of total debt. Fifty-one percent of the debts restructured is through extending the payment deadline, 16% is through turning debt into capital, 8% is through re-capitalization, and the remaining 25% is through lowering principal and interest payments, sale or transfer of assets, etc.
