The financial status of Thai listed companies recovered in January-March after being hit by the devastating flood crisis last year, with a 193.26 percent surge of net profits from the previous quarter due to increasing sales and services revenues, according to The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) research data.
In the first quarter, companies' overall ROE rose to 5.16 percent, compared with 1.82 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, after posting aggregate net earnings of THB 201.5 billion (approx. USD 6.3 billion), while their sales and services revenues rose to THB 2.34 trillion (USD 73.24 billion), the SET Note Quarterly Corporate Update shows.
Comparing with the previous quarter, operating profits surged 83 percent, supported by a recovery of key revenues and lower tax expenses. Meanwhile, the average debt to equity ratio increased slightly to 1.38 times from 1.32 times in the previous quarter; however, listed companies had higher liquidity for debt repayment.
All industries posted net profits in the first quarter, mainly reporting higher net profits than in the previous quarter. Resources posted the highest net profit growth, supported by higher oil prices and extra foreign exchange gains, followed by financials, which were helped by rises in both fee and interest rate incomes following strong loan expansion and lower operational expenses.
Other indicators used to gauge listed firms' financial health also rose from the previous quarter, with a collective first-quarter net profit margin at 8.10 percent, up from 3.10 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, while operating profit margins were at 8.28 percent, up from 5.11 percent.
Capital expenditures were at THB 115.31 billion, unchanged from the previous quarter, but up 30.43 percent from the first quarter of last year.
In the first quarter, companies raised THB 34.93 billion (USD 1.09 billion) through equities, up 423 percent from the previous quarter. Of that amount, THB 21.18 billion was from initial public offerings, with another THB 13.75 billion via secondary equity offerings.