Thai store chain CP All Q4 net profit more than doubles

18th February 2010: CP ALL Bangkok, Thailand's largest convenience store chain, reported on Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled, beating analysts' forecast, thanks to a rise in sales and better gross margins. CP All, a proxy for domestic consumption in Thailand, posted an October-December net profit of 1.09 billion baht ($32.86 million), up from 509 million baht a year earlier, but lower than the 1.42 billion in the previous quarter.

According to Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimates, which predicts future earnings by putting more weight on recent forecasts by top-rated analysts, CP All had been forecast to post a net profit of 1.07 billion baht for the quarter and 4.8 billion for 2009. Its full-year profit of 4.99 billion baht was higher than the 3.3 billion baht in 2008.

Analysts expect to see further earnings growth in 2010. It has been resilient during the economic downturn, has a strong balance sheet and is debt free, allowing for sustainable dividends, they said.

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