Bangkok - WHA Corporation Public Company Limited or WHA Group announced a strong performance in Q1/2024 with outstanding growth in operations. The total revenue and share of profits of THB 3,930 million, and net profits of THB 1,365 million, an increase of 161% year-on-year. This is divided into normalized total revenue and share of profits amounted to THB 3,776 million, while normalized profits amounted to THB 1,284 million, an increase of 154% year-on-year. The Group CEO Miss Jareeporn Jarukornsakul unveiled plans to expand investment in all aspects of "Green Logistics" ranging from electric transport vehicles, charging system installations, and charging stations, and setting a target to sign contracts for 1,000 vehicles this year.
WHA Corporation PCL (WHA Group), has
reported its Q1/2024 earnings with total revenue and share of profits of THB 3,930
million baht, an increase of 61% and net profits of THB 1,365 million, an
increase of 161%. The total normalized total revenue and share of profits reached THB 3,776 million, a growth of 56%.
Meanwhile, the normalized profits amounted to THB 1,284 million, an increase of
154% year-on-year. This growth is attributed to the performance of all four
business hubs, which have consistently demonstrated notable performance.
Furthermore, the shareholders' meeting resolved to approve an
additional dividend payment for the 2023 fiscal year at 0.1170 baht per share.
The dividend payment is scheduled for 24 May 2024. This reflects the financial
strength and continuous growth of the operational performance of WHA Group.
Miss Jareeporn
Jarukornsakul, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Group CEO of WHA
Corporation PCL “WHA Group”, disclosed
that the company continues to move forward to driving revenue and net profit
growth. This is driven by the performance of all 4 business hubs: logistics,
industrial estate, utilities and power, and digital, both in Thailand and
Vietnam. This is in line with the trend of investment and production base
relocation by foreign investors, as well as government's policy stimulating the
attraction of foreign investment into the country, resulting in a resurgence in
the investment sector and supporting the company’s all 4 business hubs.
Logistics Business has been experiencing continuous growth. In Q1/2024, the company
signed Built-to-Suit
lease agreements and the addition of ready-built factories/warehouse projects totaling 29,623 sq.m. Furthermore, short-term lease contracts
with high returns covering 33,455 sq.m. This
has led to a total warehouse space under ownership and management of 2,960,056
sq.m. As a result, in Q1/2024, the company recognized revenue from the rental properties business totaling THB 297 million.
Furthermore, the company
is emphasizing the importance of adopting electric vehicles in the country’s
transportation sector. Through investments in the Green Logistics project,
which provides comprehensive electric vehicle services, including commercial
electric transport services, installation of charging systems, charging
stations, and the WHA Green Mobility Platform (W-GMP) that enhances efficiency
in managing electric vehicles and batteries for customers. Recently, the
company has established Mobilix Co., Ltd as a brand to provide electric vehicle
services to meet the needs of logistics service providers. As of Q1/2024, the
company successfully signed lease-purchase contracts with customers up to 176
electric vehicles and anticipates that throughout the year, the number of
customers signing contracts could reach up to 1,000 vehicles, in line with the
company's set target.
For the WHA Logistics Center Theparak KM. 21, after Phase 1 has
reached full occupancy, the company has accelerated the development of Phase 2
to accommodate the increasing number of customers. Recently, a
manufacturer/distributor of pet equipment and animal feed has signed a lease agreement
for an additional area of 10,800 sq.m, in addition to the previously leased
area of 46,200 sq.m. On top of that, this company plans to lease an additional
warehouse space in Phase 2 of approximately 9,000 sq.m.
Recently, the company has unveiled the WHA Mega Logistics Center
Bangna-Trad KM. 23, Project 3, with a total area over 91,000 sq.m. on 102-rai
plot of land. This project is aimed to serve industrial sector customers,
including e-commerce, manufacturers, and freight service providers. In
parallel, the company plans to develop a new project on 300-400 rai of land in
a strategic logistics location, aligning with the growing demand for leasing
high-quality warehouse/factory spaces. Additionally, the company has
collaborated with Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. to establish the "DPL
Vietnam Minh Quang" logistics center on a total area of 42,330 sq.m within
the Minh Quang Industrial Zone in Hung Yên Province, Vietnam. Most recently,
groundbreaking ceremonies have been held, and construction commenced since
February of last year.
Regarding the plan for selling properties
and/or leasing property rights to the WHART and WHAIR, totaling space
approximately 213,000 sq.m, with an estimated value of THB 5,290 million, the
company plans to propose this plan at the WHART and WHAIR trust unitholders'
meeting for approval during the Q2/2024.
Industrial Development Business:
In Q1/2024, the company's industrial estate business had a significant increase
in land transfers, more than double from the same period last year. This is
attributed to the continuous relocation of investment and production bases to
the Southeast Asian region. The total land sales reached 629 rai (575 rai in
Thailand / 55 rai in Vietnam), with the signing of memorandum of understandings
(MOUs) for an additional 715 rai (669 rai in Thailand / 46 rai in Vietnam).
This resulted in the company recognizing total revenue from the industrial development
business of THB 2,130 million. By the end of Q1/2024, the company had a backlog
of land sales awaiting to transfer to customers, totaling 1,087 rai (1,052 rai
in Thailand / 34 rai in Vietnam).
“The factors contributing to the increase in land sales include the
signing of land purchase agreements with customers, particularly with a major
group of electrical appliance manufacturers from China. This highlights the
region's importance as a key production and investment destination for new industries,
especially in the S-Curve industries such as smart electronics, electric
vehicles, and digital technologies.”
"Currently, the company has a total industrial estate area
in both Thailand and Vietnam of 77,600 rai, including areas that are
operational and those under development. This comprises 12 operational
industrial estates in Thailand, together with 7 new development and expansion
of industrial estate projects, covering nearly 10,000 rai over the next three years.
This will increase the company's industrial estate area to over 52,000 rai by
2027. Regarding the latest industrial estate project "Eastern Seaboard
Industrial Estate 5" covering 3,400 rai, the company expects to commence
construction by the end of 2024.
For Vietnam, the company currently operates and is developing
industrial zones covering a total of 22,815 rais (3,650 hectares). These
include the WHA Industrial Zone 1 - Nge Ahn, Phase 1 of which is almost fully
leased, and Phase 2, which has leased over half of its area to leading electronics
companies. With the success of both phases, the company is accelerating the
development of Phase 3, which is expected to receive approval within 2024. In
addition, the company has plans to develop three new industrial projects in
Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam provinces as well.
Utilities Business (Water): The
overall performance of utilities business has been consistently positive,
leading to the company's recognition of revenue and normalized share of profit from
investments in utilities associates in Q1/2024 amounted to THB 771 million. The
total volume of water sales and management both domestically and
internationally reached 40.3 million cubic meters. The domestic water sales increased
to 32.2 million cubic meters, driven by the growth in sales volume of all water
products, especially value-added water and raw water, which had increased
demand from energy and petrochemical customers. Furthermore, the company has
signed a contract to provide Premium Clarified Water services, with an annual
production capacity of 3.5 million cubic meters to PTT Global Chemical PCL in
the WHA Eastern Industrial Estate (Map Ta Phut), which is expected to commence
commercial operations in September.
The volume of water sales and management in Vietnam also
increased in Q1/2024, total
water sales according to equity stake reached
8.2 million cubic meters, driven by an increase in volume of water sales and
management of the Duong River project, which has been continuously growing, as
a result of the expansion of service areas and increased demand for water from
both existing and new customers.
Power Business: In Q1/2024, the company recognized its normalized
share of profits from investments in joint ventures and associates, excluding
gain/loss from exchange rate and revenue from solar business amounting to THB 352
million. The increase in normalized share of profits from the power business
was due to higher share of profit from the GHECO-One power plant due to
decreased maintenance downtime, along with an increased share of profits from
the SPPs power plant, which benefited from lower natural gas costs compared to
the previous year.
For the solar power business, in Q1/2024, the
company signed 16 contracts for an additional solar power projects, consisting
of 15 Private PPA projects with combined production capacity of approximately
59 MW and 1 EPC Service project with a production capacity of 1 MW. By the end of Q1/2024, the accumulated
Private PPA contracts reached 242 MW. Besides, the company has a total
commercial operation of solar power of 125 MW and a total installed capacity of
approximately 792 MW equity.
The company has been selected by the Energy Regulatory Commission
to be the developer of 5 solar power projects under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT)
Phase 1 scheme, with a total installed capacity based on equity stake of 125.4
MW. The company expects to sign power purchase agreements within the Q2/2024.
Digital Business: The
company is advancing its organizational development in all dimensions to become
a Technology Company in 2024 under the 'Mission To The Sun' mission. The focus
is on transforming the businesses into digital, creating new products and added
value, while enhancing the company's business potential. A project under this
mission that has made significant progress is the Green Logistics project. The
company currently developing the WHA Green Mobility Platform (W-GMP) that
integrates various services for electric vehicle customers, ranging from Fleet
Management, Route Optimization to EV Roaming network station connections. The
company expects to launch the W-GMP platform within Q2/2024. With this
platform, the company will be the first electric vehicle service provider to
offer an end-to-end process covering the entire environmental system.
In addition, the company is developing 12 AI Transformation
projects that emphasize leveraging AI technologies such as AI & ML Data
Insight, AI Cybersecurity, and Generative AI to drive organizational advancement.
This initiative is an extension of the company's Digital Transformation
project, which comprises over 38 projects.
Furthermore,
the company has achieved success in offering debentures to institutional
investors and large investors, with triple oversubscription for Debenture
Issuance No.1/2024 of 7,000 million in March. The company plans to use the
funds raised from this debenture issuance to repay existing debts and/or for
working capital, investment, and operational expenses to support the company's
operations.
"The success of WHA
Group is a testament to the strength and growth potential of the business,
reflected in various awards such as the 'CEO of The Year 2023' award from
Krungthep Turakij Business Newspaper, The People Awards 2024 under the concept
of transcending boundaries, the Corporate ESG Bond of the Year award for
sustainable debentures at the ThaiBMA Best Bond Award 2023, and the Best
Sustainability-Linked Bond in Thailand award at The Asset Triple A Sustainable
Finance Awards 2024 organized by The Asset, a leading financial media in Asia.
These accolades highlight the company's success in issuing sustainable
debentures with a total value of THB 1,000 million."
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น