ICT industry to enjoy 33% profit growth this year, Asia Plus says

Asia Plus senior analyst Kawee Manitsupavong made the remark at a seminar yesterday.

Political activism could pose a risk for the sector as it might affect consumers’ purchasing power. But he believes that the government will continue moving forward with ICT projects as they are fundamental infrastructure.

    The risk from legal disputes between the state telecom concession owners and the private concession holders are expected to decline as these contracts approach their expiry dates. The concessions of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co under CAT Telecom will end on September 15, while Advanced Info Service’s contract with TOT will expire in 2015 and that of Total Access Communication (DTAC) under CAT in 2018. 

Adisak Sukumvitaya, chief executive officer of major handset retailer Jaymart, said the company had maintained its targets for revenue and net-profit growth of 30-40 per cent this year from net profit of Bt340 million last year. The company has yet to feel the impact from the expected economic decline in the second half and its sales have continued to grow. 

Petter Furberg, DTAC’s chief finance officer, said the company had maintained its revenue target for this year at single-digit growth, despite a possible price war in the second half. 

DTAC has adjusted its capital-expenditure budget this year to Bt14.5 billion from the previous Bt12.5 billion but the total capex budget for the next three years is maintained at Bt34 billion. The adjustment is in line with the plan to cover 50 per cent of the population with its third-generation network before the end of this year, up from the previous plan of 30 per cent. In the second quarter’s guidance, it maintained high-single-digit revenue growth.

Subsidiary DTAC TriNet is one of the three holders of 3G licences for the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum granted by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission last December.