Investment by listed companies up 11% in Q3

Business News : Monday December 10, 2007

STOCKS / MARKET STATISTICS

Investment by listed companies up 11% in Q3

POST REPORTERS

Listed companies invested 93 billion baht in fixed assets in the third quarter, an 11% increase from the same period last year, according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Investment was led by large project investments by firms in both the resources and property and construction groups. Companies in the resources group increased fixed investment by 4.7 billion baht from the year before, or 22.3%, while property and construction firms increased their investment by 1.6 billion, or 55.5% year-on-year.

Financial institutions in the financials group also raised more than eight billion baht in capital in the quarter.

The SET's research and information division noted in that return on capital employed, excluding the financials and non-performing groups, was 4.5% for the third quarter, up 0.3% from the year before.

Net profit margins rose slightly to 6.9% in the third quarter from 6.7% last year due to lower interest expenses. Return on equity was 4.2% for the quarter, down 0.1% from the year before.

Financial risk for listed companies remained low, with interest coverage of eight times as of Sept 30. The SET said cash inflows from operating activities were more than 130 billion baht for the third quarter, compared with 160 billion in cash received from financing activities and outflow through investment.

Listed firms raised around 16 billion baht in the third quarter, down 64.6% from the same period last year. Of the total funds raised, 97.7% came from the secondary market, primarily from private placement. Initial public offerings in the quarter raised 400 million baht in capital.

By : Bangkok Post