Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (SET: AOT) reported on Monday that on May 1, 2022, the first day that Thailand fully opened its border to tourists, there were 36,991 of both inbound and outbound travelers recorded in six major airports of AOT, including Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Don Mueang airports, while Hat Yai and Chiang Rai had no international arrivals.
May 1st marks the first day that Thailand reopened its border to tourists without the requirement of RT-PCR Test, as well as lowering health insurance requirements and other relaxations regarding Covid-19 restrictions, making it easier for tourists arrivals.
Thailand recorded 210,000 international arrivals in March and 153,000 in February. For the country heavily relies on tourism to drive its economy, Thailand needs to find the balance between Covid policy and tourism.
Kasikorn Research Center expected Thailand to record 4 million international arrivals this year, boosted by the reopening in May. The number should gradually accelerate, especially in the third quarter, which is the peak season for the Middle East and Asean, while European and Americans would visit in the fourth quarter.
According to Refinitiv, AOT’s revenue in 2022 is expected to rise significantly compared to 2021, increasing to 20,520 million baht from 7,086 million baht in 2021. Meanwhile, net loss would decrease more than double from 16,322 million baht of net loss in 2021 to 7,064 million baht of loss estimated for 2022 before bouncing back to 14,740 million baht of net income in 2023.
Out of 21 brokers, 13 recommend investors to buy AOT, while four recommend to hold and four others recommend sell, giving a consensus target price at THB69.52 per share, reflecting 4.14% upside to its share price that closed at THB66.75 per share last Friday.
