MARKETS

Listed companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) have reported a combined first-quarter net profit of 212 billion baht, down by 5.09% year-on-year but up by 197% quarter-on-quarter.

As of Friday, 443 of the 475 SET-listed firms or 93.3% had filed their quarterly operating results.

Agriculture and food, services and natural resources were the top three sectors in terms of profit growth.

Sales revenue of all sectors increased by 18.6% year-on-year.

A total of 301 companies or 67.9% of the 443 that have already filed reported higher earnings. “First-quarter sales increased from the same period last year in line with the rapid post-flood economic recovery,” said SET president Charamporn Jotikasthira.

“All sectors showed strong growth, but especially good were those related to consumption and domestic investment such as food and beverages, banks, building materials, and telecoms and telecommunications,”

The auto sector also rebounded strongly.

Earlier, there were concerns about listed companies’ ability to remain profitable in light of higher operating costs from last year’s second quarter.

However, those worries eased after they maintained their gross margin over the past six months.

The five companies posting the largest first-quarter net profits were PTT, PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), Charoen Pokphand Food (CPF), Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and PTT Global Chemicals (PTTGC).

Did you know?

You can introduce your kids to edutainment reading with our Student Weekly magazine: Thailand’s only all-English entertainment and education magazine for teens and all ages.