• Q1/2023 total sales up 4.6 pct y-o-y to THB 4.20 trillion
• D/E ratio down to 1.52 times at the end of March 2023

Listed companies reported higher sales in the first quarter of 2023, bolstered by the rising economic activities and tourism.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Senior Executive Vice President Manpong Senanarong said that 786 listed companies representing 99.5 percent of the total 790 companies (SET- and Market for Alternative Investment (mai)-listed companies scheduled to submit financial statements ended March 31, 2023, and excluding property and infrastructure funds) have already submitted the operating results for the first quarter of 2023. A total of 590 listed companies posted net profits, representing 74.7 percent of all listed companies that submitted their financial statements.

SET-listed companies’ combined sales for the three months to March 2023 amounted to THB 4.20 trillion (approx. USD 120.97 billion), or a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase. The production costs stood at THB 3.32 trillion, or a 7.3 percent  year-on-year increase. Total core profits declined 17.3 percent from the same period a year earlier to THB 410.25 billion, and net profits dropped 6.2 percent to THB 261.12 billion over the same period. As for the financial position as at March 31, 2023, Thai listed companies recorded the debt-to-equity ratio (excluding the Financials industry group) at 1.52 times, down from 1.58 times at the end of 2022.

“Significantly, the country reopening strengthened economic recovery and provided benefit for food, service, transport, tourism, and telecommunication businesses. In addition, the banking and financial sectors also benefited from the higher interest rates. However, the adaptation acceleration to keep pace with business comeback that bumped up product costs and administrative expenses at the faster pace than sales, partly due to the volatility of raw materials and commodity prices, depressed profit margins,” added Manpong.

For listed companies on Market for Alternative Investment (mai), their combined sales recorded at THB 52.33 billion in the first quarter of 2023 or a 4.6 percent increase from a year earlier and production costs rose 2.6 percent to THB 40.05 billion. Their quarterly operating profits jumped 10.3 percent from the same period a year ago to THB 3.29 billion, while net profits decreased 32.4 percent year-on-year to THB 2.15 billion.