MAI-listed companies report combined net profit up 4.13% in Q1

Sales of all industry groups increased across the board, while the financial and property and construction groups posted both total sales and net-profit growth.
MAI president Prapan Charoenprawatt said 133 MAI-listed companies, accounting for 96 per cent of the total of 139 firms (excluding those in the non-compliance group, and those having different financial calendars), recorded combined sales of Bt34.66 billion for the first quarter, up 12.42 per cent compared with the same period last year, while aggregate net profit rose by 4.13 per cent year on year to Bt1.18 billion. 
Gross profit margin dropped slightly to 23.77 per cent in the first quarter of this year and the combined net profit margin was 3.42 per cent. 
A total of 94 MAI-listed companies recorded net profit, representing 71 per cent of the firms that submitted quarterly financial statements.
“The combined net profit of MAI-listed companies in the first quarter rose in accordance with the increase of aggregate sales, while the gross and net profit margins declined slightly,” Prapan said. 
“According to a breakdown, eight industry groups posted higher sales, and the financial and property and construction industry groups showed growing net profit and sales compared with the first quarter of [last] year.” 
He said the five best performers in terms of net profit in the first quarter were Forth Smart Service (FSMART), Thai Solar Energy (TSE), 2S Metal (2S), The Brooker Group (BROOK) and Bangkok Dec-Con (BKD).
MAI-listed companies continued to post strong financial positions, with the debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio edging down to 0.98 time compared with 1.04 times at the end of last year.
As of May 19, there were 139 MAI-listed companies, and the MAI Index closed at 560.23 points. Market capitalisation amounted to Bt312.58 billion, with average daily trading value at Bt2.37 billion.