Bangkok: The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has announced that listed companies reported a net profit of 261 billion baht in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 3.6% increase. This growth was primarily driven by the service and consumer goods sectors, buoyed by a recovery in tourism.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Asadej Kongsiri, Director and Manager of the SET, stated that 812 out of 829 listed companies, or 97.9%, submitted their financial statements by the deadline of March 31, 2025. Excluding real estate mutual funds, infrastructure mutual funds, and companies with non-calendar year financial statements, it was found that 605 companies, or 74.5% of those that submitted statements, reported net profits.
Compared to the first quarter of the previous year, SET-listed companies experienced a 3.6% decline in sales, totaling 4,175,056 million baht. However, production costs and selling and administrative expenses decreased by 3.0% and 1.0%, respectively. The core profit was reported at 406,837 million baht, an 11.1% decline, yet net profit rose by 3.6% to 261,536 million baht. This increase was attributed to profits from financial instruments and investments, as well as improved performance in the general business group, excluding energy, utilities, petrochemicals, and chemicals. As of March 31, 2025, the debt-to-equity ratio (D/E) for Thai listed companies, excluding the financial industry, stood at 1.51 times, slightly up from 1.50 times at the end of December 2024.
Mr. Atsadet highlighted that the general business group showed robust growth due to the gradual recovery of tourism, benefiting sectors such as food and beverage, consumer goods, retail, rental space, aviation, and telecommunications. Challenges remain, however, with increased competition and pressure on profitability. Despite this, many large companies saw profits from financial instrument management and investments, contributing to the overall growth in net profit. In contrast, the oil and petrochemical sectors faced challenges due to fluctuating oil prices and reduced refining margins, while a slowdown in electricity demand impacted sales and operating profits.
In the Market for Alternative Investment (mai), companies reported a 4.6% decline in total sales to 50,432 million baht, with cost of sales down 3.3% at 37,366 million baht. Gross profit fell 8.3% to 13,066 million baht, and selling and administrative expenses rose 3.3%. Consequently, operating profits decreased by 30.6% to 3,381 million baht.