AOT

Airport departure tax hike stalled — A bid by Airports of Thailand (AoT) to increase airport departure taxes has been stalled by the political conflict but counter check-in fees will go up anyway, by five baht. Department of Civil Aviation chief Woradej Harnprasert said it was unlikely the planned departure tax increase would be approved soon. There had been no meetings called on the issue by the Civil Aviation Committee (CAC). This was because of the absence of political direction, because of the current conflict. The new airport tax increase needs approval from the committee, and then from the transport minister. (Bangkok Post, 04/03/14)

Comment: A temporary delay because of the political situation

CENTEL

Centel defies political woe with gains – Central Plaza Hotel Plc (CENTEL), the country’s largest hotel operator, posted a net profit of Bt1.32bn last year, with strong gains in its hotel and food businesses despite political turmoil and slowing consumer consumption. Profit fell by 17.2% from 2012 due to a Bt579mn extraordinary gain booked in 2012. (Bangkok Post, 04/03/14)

Comment: Met them last week, they will continue to expand outside of Bangkok, hence why their numbers continue to perform well, the issue we saw is that their food business looks crap!

DRT

DRT expands to ASEAN market focusing on countries close to Thailand such as Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar after seeing growth potential from infrastructure investment and property market expansion. It aims at revenue growth of 10% YoY in 2014. (Thun Hoon, 04/03/14)

Comment: The slowdown in upcountry growth has hit DRT strongly

GRAMMY

GRAMMY reported revenue of Bt11bn with net loss Bt1.28mn in 2013. It will focus on digital TV in 2014. (Khao Hoon, 04/03/14)

Comment: Will the digital TV really help?? We just aren’t convinced.

ERW

ERW reduces 2014 target growth to 2% from 10%-15% because the political unrest pressured occupancy rate to 50%. It will invest Bt2.7bn to set up 12 new hotels in 2014. (Khao Hoon, 04/03/14)

Comment: Again the best pure hotel play in Thailand

ITD

ITD reported 2013 net profit of Bt907mn, +576% YoY, after it booked reversal of doubtful allowance. (Khao Hoon, 04/03/14)

OISHI

OISHI launches 2 herbal drink flavors, O-Herb, and invested Bt200mn in marketing expense to obtain herbal drink market share of 10%. (Khao Hoon, 04/03/14)

Comment: Well, their profitability has not been very good, and unless you really thing this brand is worth something, I can’t convincingly argue its currently valuation.

PTTEP

PTTEP CO2 project a hit — PTTEP’s collaboration with Hitachi Zosen Corporation (HITZ) and its subsidiary Daiki Ataka Engineering Co (DAE) has yielded early success in the C02 and hydrogen (H2) to methane (CH4) technology. (Bangkok Post, 04/03/14)