Mr. Sarath Ratanavadi, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Development Public Company Limited (SET: GULF), stated that the company has not been significantly impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the resulting effects on energy supplies. Procurement and importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for this year remain in line with plans, targeting 4-5 million tons.
GULF sources LNG from various global suppliers, not solely from the Middle East, mitigating any supply risk. Although one LNG carrier is currently delayed and unable to complete its shipment, the company has already secured a replacement supply from Nigeria. As a result, GULF is confident that LNG procurement for its power plants will be stable in the medium and long term.
Simultaneously, GULF is exploring business opportunities related to LNG beyond the establishment of an LNG terminal and import operations, with an expansion into the LNG shipping sector, a new business that is expected to contribute increasingly to revenue in the future.
Regarding LNG prices, they continue to fluctuate in line with market mechanisms—considered a normal adjustment. Meanwhile, a risk remains if the government does not adjust the feed-in tariff (Ft) to reflect the actual costs, which could result in higher electricity production costs for industrial users (IU) and marginally impact GULF’s earnings. Nonetheless, this effect is limited as sales to industrial customers constitute only about 7% of the company’s total electricity sales.
For the year 2026, GULF continues to focus on data center business expansion. With more data center operators entering the Thai market, there are two to three categories currently present: hyperscale data centers from major international companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and TikTok, and another group of concern—numerous foreign data center operators who lease land, purchase electricity and water, but import all their materials, repatriate profits, and provide little economic benefit to Thailand.
Such activity is seen as increasing national costs unnecessarily, similar to so-called “zero-dollar tours.” The management is urging government intervention to address these issues.
Indirect impacts from the current situation may affect consumer purchasing power and, consequently, the performance of Advanced Info Service (SET: ADVANC) to some extent. However, other factors remain manageable, as both GULF and ADVANC issued bonds in advance of the Middle East unrest. Overall, the company assesses that the situation will not cause material long-term effects on its operations.
Regarding shareholding in Kasikornbank (SET: KBANK), the company has no plans to increase its investment, maintaining its current stake at 9.9%. Similarly, there are no plans for additional investment in the Bang Yai–Kanchanaburi (M81) motorway project, which is not GULF’s core business.
Ms. Yupapin Wangviwat, GULF’s Chief Financial Officer, projected revenue to grow by 10-15% in 2026, mainly from the commencement of new projects. The company expects to add approximately 700 MW in commercial operations this year, including six domestic solar power projects with a total installed capacity of 623 MW (split into four solar farms with 321 MW and two solar BESS—battery energy storage system—projects with 302 MW).
The Chiang Mai Waste to Energy (CM WTE) project, with a 10 MW capacity, is scheduled for commercial operation in May. Additionally, the solar rooftop project under GULF1 is expected to supply a further 63 MW to customers during 2026. The company’s natural gas power plant, Jackson Generation, in the United States, is also showing continuous growth.
In the second quarter of 2026, GULF will record a gain of THB 1.9 billion from the sale of a 51% interest in the Pak Lay hydropower project in Laos, with an installed capacity of 770 MW.
The data center and cloud business segment will also be a key growth driver in 2026, as it will be the first year that GULF recognizes full-year results from the 25 MW GSA01 data center. Meanwhile, the GSA02 project (38 MW) and the GSA03 project (with a capacity of up to 100 MW) are under development and scheduled to commence operations in 2027.
For 2026, the company has plans to issue debentures totaling approximately THB 70 billion. In March, GULF already issued THB 35 billion in debentures, with a further THB 15 billion planned in U.S. dollar-denominated debentures mid-year, and another THB 20 billion in Thai baht-denominated debentures expected in October. These will be offered to both institutional and retail investors.
Currently, GULF’s debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio stands at 0.9 times, considered very low due to the merger with INTUCH, which significantly increased equity and enables large-scale investment. The total borrowing cost across the group is at 3%, with 95% at fixed interest rates and 5% at floating rates, reducing exposure to rising interest rates.
At the 2026 Annual General Meeting held on April 10, shareholders approved a dividend payout for the fiscal period from April 1, 2025 (merger date) to December 31, 2025. The dividend consists of THB 1.05 per share from net profits and a special dividend of THB 2.20 per share, resulting in a total annual payout of THB 3.25 per share, equivalent to approximately THB 48.55 billion, or 72.36% of separate net profit, in accordance with the company’s dividend policy.
The dividend will be paid to shareholders registered on the record date (March 4, 2026), with payment scheduled for May 7, 2026.
