Thitikorn debenture issue aims to facilitate 10 per cent growth
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Thitikorn, the leading motorcycle hire-purchase company in Greater Bangkok, targets growth of at least 10 per cent this year thanks to growing demand.
Meanwhile, the company has issued three-year debentures worth Bt570 million to serve its expansion plan as well as a previous debenture issue reached maturity.
Managing director Prathama Phornprapha said the debenture issue would support TK’s plan to add 10 more branches nationwide this year to the five currently operating. The expansion should facilitate portfolio growth of at least 10 per cent from Bt8.64 billion in last year. The growth rate of last year’s portfolio was 14.1 per cent against 2011.
Meanwhile, the company reported revenue of Bt963.85 million and net profit of Bt203.43 million in the first quarter of this year. Its revenue in 2012 was Bt3.6 billion and net profit Bt712.11 million.
The first lot of this year’s debenture issue offered 570,000 units at Bt1,000 each, totalling Bt570 million at a fixed interest rate of 3.98 per cent.
“We consider debentures an important financial tool for us to mobilise fund from the market to support our expansion, and our previous debenture is going to mature in the near future. But the most important [reason] for issuing this debenture is managing our funding costs to be competitive in the market,” she said.
Prapol Phornprapha, deputy managing director, said TK was considering issuing the next debenture, which would depend on needs and interest-rate trends.
“Our debenture has been well accepted by the market because we have been trusted and we have kept our front-tier competitiveness in the market. There is no doubt about the capability to pay interest and TK is rated ‘A-’ by TRIS Rating,” he said.
He noted that TK’s debt-to-equity ratio was just 1.5 times, comparatively low in an industry that averaged 8-9 times.
