Thailand's stock market is showing early signs of recovery from its previous poor performance, posting strong first-quarter earnings that reinforce positive sentiment and improve medium-term confidence, says the bourse.Companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) recorded combined net profits of 369 billion baht for the first three months, up 25.3% year-on-year, driven mainly by stronger performances among energy and petrochemical stocks as global oil prices and refining margins increased during the quarter.
Roughly 77% of the 813 companies on the SET and Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) that have already released their quarterly financial reports registered net profits in the first quarter, said SET president Asadej Kongsiri.
Total sales by SET-listed companies rose 1.2% year-on-year to 4.24 trillion baht, while gross profit climbed 24.7% to 1.04 trillion baht. Core operating profit surged 56.5% to 507 billion baht.
Financial strength also improved, with the debt-to-equity ratio excluding financial firms declining to 1.28 times from 1.34 times a year earlier.
"Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher in the first quarter, benefiting energy and petrochemical companies via stronger margins and inventory gains," Mr Asadej noted.
