The net profit of 434 SET-listed companies in the first nine months rose by 3.74% year-on-year as a result of improved profits and sales in the petrochemical, commerce and property sectors.
The combined net profit of these listed companies is valued at 708 billion baht, said Santi Kiranand, Stock Exchange of Thailand senior executive vice-president.
Most listed companies benefited from rising sales, with higher oil prices helping those in the energy, petrochemical, and utilities sectors, said Mr Santi.
The 434 firms make up 75.2% of the 577 SET-listed firms that submitted their financial statements for the quarter ending on Sept 30.
For this period, the 577 listed firms reported total sales of 8 trillion baht, up by 10% year-on-year, with gross profit logging 2 trillion baht, up by 5.25% year-on-year.
Total gross profit margin was 23.8%, down from 24.9% in the same period last year.
Listed firms' capital structure, excluding those in the financial industry, remained strong with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19 times, down from 1.25 times recorded at year-end 2016.
Companies listed on the Market for Alternative Investment index reported combined net profit of 3 billion baht in the first nine months, down 34.4% year-on-year.
In a separate matter, the SET has demanded International Engineering Plc (IEC)'s board of directors clarify why the firm has not postponed its share subscription or the payment period, as it remains uncertain whether the company will be able to register for a capital increase.
Besides appointing six new directors, IEC's extraordinary shareholders meeting on Oct 20 approved the allotment and offering of 203.6 billion new shares at a par value of 0.01 baht per share via a rights offering, with a subscription ratio of one existing share to one new ordinary share at an offering price of 0.0125 baht.
The share subscription and payment period are scheduled for Nov 23-29.
IEC has informed the SET the registrar is still considering the process as there has been an objection to the capital increase by some shareholders. But the company has not changed the stipulated date for share subscription and payment.
