- 2013 net profits up 7.22 percent y-o-y to THB 789 billion
- Sales up 4.89 percent y-o-y to exceed THB 10 trillion for the second year running
- PTT, PTTEP, SCB, KBANK and SCC are top five best profit-makers
Companies listed on The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) reported a net profit of THB 789 billion (approx. USD 24.44 billion) during January-December 2013, up 7.22 percent from a year earlier, despite slow recovery of the global economy and Thailand’s sluggish economic growth.
The aggregate earnings were compiled from 491 listed firms, or 96.84 percent of the 507 companies listed on SET (excluding those in the non-compliance and non-performing groups), for the whole calendar year of 2013. Of the reporting firms, 415 companies, or 84.52 percent of the total, made net profits.
Total sales of the 491 companies rose 4.89 percent to THB 10.98 trillion (USD 340 billion), the second consecutive year that annual sales reached above THB 10 trillion. The top five firms, in descending order of absolute amounts of profits, were PTT pcl (PTT), PTT Exploration and Production pcl (PTTEP), Siam Commercial Bank pcl (SCB), Kasikornbank pcl (KBANK), and Siam Cement pcl (SCC).
In addition, gross profit margins rose to 18.44 percent in 2013 from 17.64 percent a year earlier, while net profit margins increased to 7.19 percent, from 7.03 percent. Debt to equity ratio (excluding those in the financial industry) remained low, at 1.24 times.
"2013 performance of listed companies remained strong, although the slower-than-expected global economic recovery affected upstream product prices in the Energy, Petrochemical, Steel, Agricultural, and Food sectors, and caused foreign exchange losses in some sectors. However, companies in Financials, Property, some businesses in services – Commerce, Hotels, Media and Publishing – and Information and Communications Technology, benefited from urban expansion, risk diversification, and industrial structural change, thus boosting their profits from a year earlier,” said SET Executive Vice President Chanitr Charnchainarong.
"Contracted consumption and private investment from the second half of last year weighed down sales and profits growth in the third and fourth quarters. The slowdown was shown in the Manufacturing, Services, Property, and Financials sectors. However, Food and Electronics sectors reported rising growth, reversing the overall performance, as global economic recovery boosted exports," Chanitr added.
By industry group, the top three best performers with highest net profit in 2013 were Financials, Resources, and Property and Construction, in descending order. By sector, Energy & Utilities, Banking, and Information & Communication Technology were the top three best profit makers in terms of absolute amounts, with a combined THB 469.42 billion net profit, accounting for 59.47 percent of total net profit of reporting listed firms, while sales of the three sectors accounted for 54.15 percent of the total.