
124
Communications anticipates 20% growth in 2006 and 2007 124 Communications
Plc projects its revenue will grow by no less than 20 percent this year and next
year, thanks to a rising backlog in business contracts. The listed public-relations
firm already has consultancy contracts worth 100 million baht in hand and expects
to book the revenue starting from the third quarter of this year through 2007. The
company yesterday signed an agreement with Family Know-how, an affiliate of the
Stock Exchange of Thailand, to handle ad sales with a focus on companies listed
on the main board and the Market for Alternative Investment. Nimitz Modrakee, chief executive of 124 Communications,
said the company had signed a one-year contract with Family Know-how that runs
until Aug 8, 2007. "This co-operation will be a boost for both of us
in terms of support and benefits that we will get. We'll have more channels to
expand the business since the exchange has nearly 500 listed firms," he said. Presently,
less than 15 percent of the total listed firms have sought corporate public-relations
consultancy, business relations, and investor-relations (IR) advisory services. "We
hope to attract some 10-20 listed companies to become our clients," Mr Nimitz
said. He said the overall business outlook will pick up in the third and
the fourth quarters when the trend of the business cycle will generally be active. "I'm
not worried about our net profit because it's the nature of this business. Usually,
the first two quarters will be slow while the rest will be the harvest season,"
he added. The company posted second-quarter net profits of 6.04 million
baht on revenues of 54.64 million. First-half revenue totalled 96.22 million
baht, up 41.37 percent from the 68.06 million posted the same period last year. Mr
Nimitz said the company would book revenues of 23 million baht from consultancy
services for the new Suvarnabhumi Airport project in the third quarter. The
company has a revenue proportion of 60 percent from deals with government agencies
and 40 percent from corporate and private organisations. Major customers include
Thai Beverage, Oishi Group, King Power, MasterCard, ESPN Sports Channel, and Starsports. The
firm has also won IR consultancy deals from two major companies, Media of Medias
and Sri Trang Agro-Industry. Shares of PR124 last traded on the Stock Exchange
of Thailand on Monday when it closed at 5.25 baht. |