SET, MAI firms’ combined net profit up 8.9% last year, boosted by Thai economic growth

This was underpinned by promising growth of the Thai economy, especially in the export and tourism sectors, while higher oil prices pushed up the SET’s Energy & Utilities sector’s earnings growth, according to an SET report on Tuesday.
The 2017 aggregate earnings of SET-listed firms were compiled from 566 companies, or 97.75 per cent of the total 579 companies on the bourse (including property funds, real estate investment trusts and infrastructure funds, but excluding non-compliance and non-performing groups). 
The combined net profit of the 566 SET-listed firms for last year was Bt982 billion, representing annual growth of 9.05 per cent. 
Combined sales of companies listed on main bourse were up 9.72 per cent to Bt11.01 trillion. However, the net profit of the SET’s Banking sector decreased slightly year on year, due to the rise in bad-loan provisioning. 
Companies listed on the MAI, meanwhile, reported a full-year net profit of Bt4.97 billion.
In the final three months of 2017, continuing Thai economic growth pushed the combined net profit of SET-listed companies up 25.26 per cent to Bt251 billion year on year, and up 20.47 per cent from the prior quarter, while their aggregate sales in the period rose to Bt2.9 trillion.
Listed firms’ profitability fell slightly, with their overall gross profit margin down to 23.96 per cent from 24.71 per cent a year earlier, and their net profit margin coming in at 8.92 per cent, against 8.98 per cent in 2016. 
However, their capital structures remained strong, with the debt-to-equity ratio (excluding the SET’s Financial sector) at end-2017 being 1.14 times, down from 1.24 times at the close of 2016.
SET president Kesara Manchusree said: “Thailand’s economic growth in 2017, estimated at 4 per cent, with prominent growth in the second half, was led by export and services industries, while tourism has continuously grown, as such boosting listed firms’ net profits, in addition to healthy performance of listed companies in the Energy & Utilities sector. 
“Moreover, those in the Petrochemicals & Chemicals, Commerce, Tourism & Leisure, Transportation & Logistics sectors reported higher sales and profit growth, as well as gross profit margin growth, compared to 2016.”
“The companies listed on the Market for Alternative Investment also reported a 2017 net profit of Bt4.97 billion, a 13.54-per-cent drop compared to 2016, with gross profit margin decreasing to 23.2 per cent from 24.8 per cent a year earlier,” she added.