Thai banks continued on a positive note on Monday after reporting earnings growth on their 2Q22 financial results.
As of 16.18 hrs. local time in Thailand, the share price of SCB X Pcl. (SET: SCB) rose THB4.00/share or 4.12% to THB101.00/share, with a trading value of THB2,569 million.
The share price of Kasikornbank Pcl. (SET: KBANK) rose THB3.00/share or 2.14% to THB143.00/share, with a trading value of THB2,060 million.
The share price of Bangkok Bank Pcl. (SET: BBL) rose THB1.50/share or 1.14% to THB133.00/share, with a trading value of THB930 million.
The share price of TMBThanachart Pcl. (SET: TTB) rose THB0.03/share or 2.56% to THB1.20/share, with a trading value of THB197 million.
Maybank Securities (Thailand) (MST) maintains its positive view on the banking sector, despite the perceived macro headwinds, and it expects earnings to expand by 16 percent year-on-year in 2022. Interest rate rises are expected to benefit big banks such as KBANK, KTB, and KKP.
Maybank expects KKP and KTB to outperform its 2022 earnings prediction because their 1H22 earnings exceeded 60% of their full-year forecast. SCB may outperform the SET in the short term, since 2Q results eased market concerns. Compared to KBANK, SCB’s valuation is attractive at 8x 2022 PER, which is in line with KBANK’s PER.
Maybank sees a buying opportunity in SCB as it reported a net profit of THB10 billion in 2Q22, up 14% over the year, with no investment losses, despite market fears. Its stock price has fallen by 24% so far this year, likely due to investor concern for mark-to-market losses from the SCB10x investment. SCB, however, made mark-to-market gains of THB2.7 billion in the second quarter of this year. SCB stated that venture capital investment would be limited to USD110 million.
