Surge in Covid-19 cases will pull down earnings of listed firms, analysts predict
The turnover of Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)-listed companies is expected to drop by about 40 per cent in the second half of this year from the first half due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, according to Asia Plus Securities (APS).
Therdsak Thaveeteeratham, a senior analyst with APS, said the second-quarter net profit of 501 listed companies, accounting for 96 per cent of market capitalisation, stood at 269.18 billion baht, up 116 per cent compared to 124.27 billion baht in the same period last year.
He explained that the second-quarter net profit was higher than expected due to large companies’ extra profit and low-profit margin in the previous year.
"Listed companies’ first-quarter net profit of 258.03 billion baht combined with that of the second quarter adds up to 527.21 billion baht for the first half of this year,” he said.
“Based on this, APS expects listed companies’ net profit for the entire year to stand at 845 billion baht or 73.60 baht per share."
However, he believes listed firms’ turnover in the second half will drop by about 40 per cent compared to the first half if daily Covid-19 infections continue going beyond 20,000.
He said other securities companies are also expected to cut their forecast because the Bloomberg Consensus’ prediction of per-share earnings at 85.43 baht was too high.
