MARKETS

MARKETS

H1 profitsup by 34.6%

Net profits of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in the first half of this year totalled 386 billion baht, up 34.61% from a year earlier, as the growing economy pushed up demand, the SET reported yesterday.

Resources, financial, and property and construction were the three best-performing sectors.
Of the 472 listed firms, or 92.7% of the 509 companies and 34 property funds listed on the exchange, 402 companies, or 85.2%, earned net profits.
The earnings for the period were a record high, driven by economic improvement, and the ability of firms to control costs and make profit in a higher-cost environment, said SET president Charamporn Jotikasthira.
"Although the market faced some impact from the European and US economic slowdowns, big-cap firms in the SET50 Index, especially in the energy, petrochemical and banking sectors, showed attractive growth continuously," he added.
Total sales of the 472 companies reporting rose 22.37% to 4.49 trillion baht. The top five companies in terms of profit were PTT Plc, PTTEP, Siam Commercial Bank, Siam Cement and Bangkok Bank.
Net profits of listed firms in the second quarter alone rose 35.46% year-on-year to 172 billion baht.
The 100 big-cap companies in the SET100 Index showed a combined net profit in the first half of 331 billion baht, up 35.9% from a year earlier. The figure represented 85.3% of the total net profits of all listed firms.