Stocks in the news (aot, forth, mcot, news, sprc, ssp, tkn, tu, ziga) 03.01.18
AOT
AOT says 1QFY18 (October-December 2017) passengers grew far better than its expectation of 14%, as the number of international travelers rose significantly after the removal of the ICAO’s red flag. AOT is going to adjust its estimates. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
Comment: Over the LT this company will still continue to perform given the continued increase in number of tourists that can still continue to travel to Thailand. Now for the next 6 months I’m not sure we’ll see a great YoY increase, especially from China given that Korea is back on their ok list.
FORTH
FORTH targets 2018 revenue to grow by 20% as its current backlog is Bt1.2bn, of which 70% will be booked this year. It is going to bid for new projects worth Bt7bn. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
Comment: Not the best play for a recovery in the IT sector in Thailand, for that you’ll have to look at AIT and SAMTEL, but a price a great play on FSMART.
MCOT
MCOT has revealed its five-year business plan, in which it targets 2018 revenue to reach Bt3bn and plans to add value from E-commerce business, as it plans to fully penetrate to online media, along with cost reduction. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
Comment: If they can keep their assets away from government organisations then at one point this will be a great turnaround play. But there are still too many issues within their business model.
NEWS
NEWS reports that it received Bt473.55mn from rights offering of 36,426.75mn shares. It plans to use Bt300-350mn to pay back debt to private placement investors and reserve Bt120-170mn as working capital. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
SPRC
SPRC will request board approval to increase production capacity by 10,000 barrels per day, at an investment cost of US$70mn within the beginning of 2018. It believes gross refining margin will remain high at US$6-8/barrel. (Thun Hoon, 3/1/18)
Comment: If oil prices continue to rise then these refineries are going to see GRM’s decline to where they were in 2010-2014
SSP
SSP is partnering with SESJ, a Japanese company, taking a stake of 10% and AMOE-SH Energy, a Mongolian company, with a stake of 15% in Khunshight Kundi solar farm in Mongolia. It plans to start up this project in 1Q19. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
TKN
TKN targets 2018 revenue to grow by 15% and plans to expand its overseas market. It also plans to raise gross margin to 34% from 32.37% and has budgeted US$1-2mn to establish headquarters in China and the US. It is going to launch website in China to add more distribution channels. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
TU
TU is setting up a holding company in Hong Kong to support business expansion. It has budgeted Bt3.5-4.5bn to improve efficiency of its machines to support new orders and plans to negotiate on new M&A and joint venture deals. It targets to maintain gross margin at 14.5-15%. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18)
ZIGA
ZIGA is increasing production capacity from 65,000 tons to 79,000 tons in tandem with the expansion to the Middle East. It expects to finalize the plan in 2H18. It targets 2018 revenue to grow by 20%, contributed from all brands. (Khao Hoon, 3/1/18