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- Total sales rose 10.36 pct to THB 11.87 trillion (approx. USD 370 billion), propelled by Thailand’s economic growth
- Net profit down 1.45 pct y-o-y to THB 931 billion (approx. USD 29 billion),
- Banking is the most profitable sector
Securities listed on The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) posted total sales of THB 11.87 trillion in 2018, up 10.36 percent from a year earlier. Their aggregate net profit, however, fell 1.45 percent, hit by inventory loss of sectors related to commodities following falling oil, petrochemicals and steels prices in the fourth quarter.
SET Senior Executive Vice President Manpong Senanarong said that 533 SET-listed securities, accounting for 97.80 percent of the total 545 securities (excluding property funds, real estate investment trusts, infrastructure funds, non-compliance (NC) and non-performing groups (NPG)), submitted their 2018 financial reports, ended December 31, 2018. Among those securities, 438 securities recorded net profits, representing 82 percent.
Combined sales of SET-listed securities jumped 10.36 percent to THB 11.87 trillion in 2018, with a 2.47 percent rise in core operating profits to THB 1.08 trillion but a 1.45 percent decline in net profits to THB 931.16 billion.
"In 2018, listed securities' sales improved, underpinned by Thailand’s economic circumstance. However, the steep fall in oil price pressured listed securities' fourth quarter net earnings, which dipped by 40.8 percent over the same period a year before, particularly those engaged in oil, petrochemical and steel businesses. However, the nine-month earnings increased by 13 percent y-o-y," Manpong said.
Profitability ratios in 2018 fell slightly from a year before as seen by operating profit margin at 9.09 percent from 9.79 percent in the previous year and net profit margin at 7.40 percent from 8.25 percent.
Regarding listed securities' financial position at end-2018, their debt-to-equity ratio (excluding those in Financials Industry Group) rose slightly to 1.29 times from 1.24 times at the end of 2017.
Banking sector outperformed others in terms of net profit, thanks to large banks’ lending growth and lower loan-loss provisions, while Finance & Securities also improved driven by retail loan growth.
Meanwhile, securities listed on Market for Alternative Investment (mai) reported total sales of THB 174.4 billion in 2018, a 14.64 percent increase from a year earlier, while net profit increased 2.09 percent to THB 5.1 billion.
