Listed companies reported the solid sales growth in 2022 on country reopening and the increasing number of tourists but their profit margin growth slowed weighed by higher production and financial costs.
Senior Executive Vice President of The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Manpong Senanarong said that 798 companies, representing 98.6 percent of 809 companies listed on SET and Market for Alternative Investment (mai) (excluding property funds, infrastructure funds and the non-compliance or NC group) reported their 2022 financial performance, ending December 31, 2022. A total of 619 companies posted net profits, accounting for 77.6 percent of SET and mai-listed companies that submitted their financial statements.
SET-listed companies' combined sales jumped 32.4 percent on year to THB 17.68 trillion (approx. USD 512.46 billion) in 2022 while their production costs went up 36.8 percent to THB 13.92 trillion. Core operating profits increased 18.4 percent to THB 1.83 trillion while net profits fell 1.9 percent to THB 974.76 billion. If one-off items were stripped out, SET-listed companies' net profit would rise 5.0 percent on year. Regarding financial status, as of December 31, 2022, Thai listed companies (excluding those in the Financials industry group) had debt-to-equity ratio (D/E ratio) at 1.59 times, up from 1.53 times recorded a year earlier.
| Profitability ratio | 2021 | 2022 |
| Gross profit margin | 23.8% | 21.3% |
| Operating profit margin | 11.6% | 10.4% |
| Net profit margin | 7.4% | 5.5% |
"Listed companies in energy, food, services and property sectors saw the increase in sales on high oil prices, country reopening and the reduction of transfer and mortgage fees for residential property. Meanwhile, economic revival was a boon to banking business. Commodity price fluctuation and rising financial costs dragged profit growth. Several businesses including petrochemical, rubber, steel and insurance businesses recorded lower net profits. Although the government's stimulus policy for tourism sector in the first half of 2023 is expected to help maintain economic growth momentum, the persistently high oil price and the rising energy costs present challenges to listed companies," Manpong said.
For mai-listed companies, their combined sales surged 20.1 percent from the previous year to THB 214.69 billion in 2022, operating profits rose 1.8 percent to THB 12.56 billion while net profits fell 23.0 percent to THB 7.41 billion.