SET-listed industrial estate developer Amata Corporation Plc (AMATA) reported a robust 67% year-on-year surge in net profit to 1.37 billion baht for the first quarter of 2026, driven by geopolitical-led manufacturing shifts and a major boom in data centres and technology infrastructure.
The company's total revenue for the quarter rose 18% to 3.99 billion baht, supported by a healthy backlog of 19.7 billion baht that guarantees strong long-term revenue visibility.
Dendao Komolmas, Amata's Chief Financial Officer, attributed the stellar performance to accelerated supply chain relocations triggered by global geopolitical tensions.
This enabled the industrial estate giant to increase its land transfers to 306 rai in the first quarter, up from 279 rai during the same period last year.
Consequently, revenue from its core real estate business rose 30% to 2.48 billion baht.
"The results reflect a strong rebound in industrial estate investment and sustained expansion in foreign direct investment (FDI)," Ms Dendao said.
The gross profit margin of Amata's core businesses improved to 47% from 44% a year earlier.
Ms Dendao noted that the company exercises financial discipline with a long?term focus that takes into account capital allocation, risk management, and governance. The company is continuously optimizing financial costs and streamlining estate developments both domestically and overseas to realign with shifts in the global economy.
Demand for industrial land remains steady, particularly from technology, electronics, data centres, and clean energy sectors.
Amata plans to gradually recognize its 19.7-billion-baht backlog to maintain steady revenue growth, while keeping its debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio managed, currently at a stable 1.25 times.
Analysts' Expectations Surpassed
Market analysts noted that Amata's first-quarter net profit significantly exceeded consensus estimates.
Securities firms tracking the stock highlighted that the faster-than-expected pace of land transfers in Thailand, coupled with healthier operating margins, provided a much stronger financial upside than originally modeled for the start of the year.
Following the earnings release, several brokerages, including CGS International Securities (Thailand), moved to revise up their full-year net profit forecasts for Amata for the 2026-2028 period.
Analysts cited the company's commanding gross profit margins in real estate, which neared 57.4% for the quarter due to premium pricing power in high-demand economic zones, as a key driver for long-term re-rating.
The better-than-expected performance is also expected to bolster investor confidence in Thailand's industrial sector, which has been under scrutiny regarding its ability to absorb large-scale tech migrations.
Analysts believe Amata's substantial backlog will serve as a resilient earnings cushion against potential global macroeconomic headwinds later in the year.
Diverse Revenue Streams
Amata's utility services division, which provides critical infrastructure to factory operators, posted steady growth with revenue rising 2% to 1.2 billion baht, tracking higher consumption from tenants.
The Ready-Built Factory (RBF) rental business contributed 258 million baht, up 5% year-on-year, while maintaining a high gross profit margin Amata currently manages a total RBF area of 469,890 square metres.
However, share of profit from investments in associates and joint ventures dropped 34% year-on-year to 152 million baht, primarily due to lower profit recognition from the power business and natural gas business during the quarter.
FDI Momentum and Green Expansion
Yasuo Tsutsui, Chief Executive of Amata's Thailand real estate business and acting Chief Marketing Officer, stated that the broader industrial estate market in 2026 continues to ride an FDI wave into Southeast Asia.
Thailand and Vietnam remain prime destinations for high-value industries like digital technology and green energy.
The Board of Investment (BOI) reported that applications for investment privileges in the first quarter of 2026 skyrocketed 2.4 times year-on-year to over 1.01 trillion baht.
The digital sector led the surge, accounting for more than 870 billion baht, underlining massive demand for tech infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) development.
"Despite global economic volatility, Middle East conflicts, and trade pressures, Thailand retains its competitive edge in infrastructure and supply chains," Mr Tsutsui said.
"We continue to see continued interest from foreign investors, particularly from China, Japan, Singapore, and Europe."
Looking abroad, Amata is scaling up its presence in Vietnam's high-growth market. The company recently established a new subsidiary, Amata City Phu Tho Joint Stock Company, with a registered capital of approximately 23.86 million baht to develop new projects.
Furthermore, Amata has invested in solar rooftop ventures across its Amata City Halong industrial estates to capture the growing green energy trend.
Amata's business concept is to create fully integrated "Industrial Cities", going beyond providing land to deliver and continuously develop complete industrial city ecosystems.
This strategy focuses on shifting from basic manufacturing hubs to comprehensive investment ecosystems that blend ready-to-operate utility platforms, digital technology, integrated services, and long-term management with a balanced growth concept under the company's "All Win" philosophy.
Under this concept, one of the core pillars is environmental sustainability. Amata aims to achieve carbon-neutral industrial cities by 2040 through green infrastructure, renewable energy, and smart technology solutions.