1QFY17 profit up 68.6% y-y

MEGA posted a strong set of operating results for 1QFY17, helped by buoyant sales, wider margins and FX gain. For the quarter, net profit surged 68.6% y-y to Bt192mn as

(i) MEGA booked a FX gain of Bt26mn in this period, reversing an FX loss of Bt27mn in the same year-ago period,

(ii) total sales grew 7.1% y-y to Bt2,096mn, and

(iii) gross profit margins widened to 42.8% in this period from 39.2% in the same period last year.

SG&A expenses to sales ratio edged higher to 32.9% in this period from 30.5% in the same year-ago period as the consolidation of the recently acquired BioLife Marketing Sdn (Bio-Life), a Malaysian herbal medicine and food supplement company pushed expenses slightly higher. Net profit margin for the quarter expanded substantially to 9.2% from 5.8% in the same period a year ago.