Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,389.30 points, increased 0.93 points or 0.07% with a trading value of 25.03 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market barely moved today as most markets in Asia closed for Lunar New Year holidays, and there were no leading factors in the market. Meanwhile, the US and Thai markets were awaiting the announcement of 2023 financial statements from listed companies.
The analyst expected the market to trade narrowly tomorrow, as investors kept their eyes on the announcement of CPI figures from the US, which were expected to drop slightly and caused the Federal Reserve to hold interest rate in March.
North East Rubber Public Company Limited (SET: NER) is expecting a solid 1Q24 performance after booking an abundant backlog for the whole first half of the year, coupled with higher demand from China and rubber prices as well as economic recovery and stabilization of FX rates.
The company expected to record 510,000 tonnes in sales this year, up 5-10% from 2023. The increase is due to an upgrade in factories, which can ramp up the output. NER also invested THB 1,400 million to build the third rubber block factory and compounded rubber. It will be divided into two phases. The first phase is expected to be completed later in 2024 and will start recognizing revenue in 2025.
The new factories will give upside to NER’s production capacity tremendously, increasing from 515,600 tons to 818,000 tons per annum. This will fully support the company’s domestic and overseas operations.
NER moves forward to drive sustainability for the environment, community and governance. This also goes along with the company’s management plan to use existing resources efficiently and also lower operating and production costs.
Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited (SET: CRC) is set to move forward to the next era with ‘CRC OMNI-Intelligence’ vision by incorporating AI in every business process including elevating the Next-Generation omnichannel experience that seamlessly integrates offline and online platforms together to provide the best experience to customers. The company will also fully expand the ecosystem from B2C to B2B, as well as enhance our enterprise by integrating human intelligence with AI that empowers employees to be more productive and more efficient, delivering on ‘expertise at your fingertip’ for superior customer experiences. Moreover, the company strives to drive impact that focuses on growing both ‘profit’ and ‘planet’ together in a sustainable way.
The company strives forward with a 2024 operational plan, targeting revenue growth at 9-11% and EBITDA growth at 15-17%, with an investment budget of 22-24 billion baht.
