Thai billionaire’s Frasers Property sees ‘challenges’ despite 18% full-year profit gain
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Net profit would have been 50 per cent lower year on year if not for a one-time tax provision reversal, Frasers Property said.
PHOTO: FRASERS PROPERTY
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SINGAPORE - Frasers Property, the property developer controlled by Thailand’s richest man Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, warned of challenges ahead as a one-time tax provision reversal helped offset a broader profit slump.
Net profit rose 18 per cent to $243.1 million for the fiscal year ended Sept 30, according to an exchange filing on Nov 14. That would have been 50 per cent lower year-on-year if not for the tax gains, the Singapore-listed firm said.
The company faced impairments on some projects, lower residential contributions across most markets and higher interest expenses. Revenue dropped more than 19 per cent to $3.4 billion.
The firm’s performance reflected “ongoing macroeconomic headwinds and the inherent lumpiness of residential contributions,” chief executive officer Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi said in a statement.
“We recognize the challenges ahead,” said Mr Panote, the billionaire’s son who has led the company since 2016.
Frasers Property continues to face a high debt burden relative to its peers, with its net debt to equity ratio rising to 89.2 per cent from 83.4 per cent a year earlier, which it attributed to factors including funding the privatisation of a hospitality real estate investment trust.
The issue of succession has also come into greater focus for the future of the octogenarian’s business empire, which is controlled largely through his TCC Group family conglomerate in Thailand. It owns nearly 90 per cent of the property firm’s shares.
Mr Charoen retired as the firm’s chairman and was replaced in February by former Singtel chairman Chumpol NaLamlieng. There has been a spate of other executive and director changes, including most recently the appointment of a new board member this month, Prapakon Thongtheppairot, who holds key roles in other firms controlled by the Sirivadhanabhakdi clan.
Shares of Frasers Property have gained almost 12 per cent in 2025 through Nov 13’s close, lagging behind the 21 per cent advance in the Straits Times Index.
The stock was unchanged at $1.04 as at 9.15am on Nov 14, after its earnings announcement. BLOOMBERG
