Tawanna Termwattanakorn, Investor Relations Manager of The Erawan Group Public Company Limited (SET: ERW), told “Kaohoon” that the company maintains its revenue growth target for 2026 at 9% from the previous year’s revenue of THB 7,937 million. This is driven by a focus on revenue management and maintaining profit margins to enhance operational efficiency.
For the outlook in the second half of 2026, ERW expects the results to outperform the first half, supported by the sustained recovery of the tourism sector, particularly with the gradual improvement in the number of Chinese tourists and the approach of the high season towards year-end. In 3Q26, performance is expected to gradually improve over 2Q26 thanks to the upward trend in travel demand. The company will continue to closely monitor external factors that may affect travel and the tourism environment.
In 4Q26, in addition to the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF scheduled to be held in Bangkok in October—which are expected to drive hotel demand in Bangkok—there is also the Tomorrowland music festival set to be held in Pattaya in December, which is anticipated to further benefit the hotel business in the area.
Regarding the hotel expansion plan for 2026, ERW targets the opening of a total of 9 new hotels under the HOP INN brand, a budget hotel chain, with 8 locations in Thailand and 1 in South Korea. In the first half of the year, 3 new hotels have already opened—2 in Thailand and 1 in South Korea—which have received positive feedback. The remaining properties will progressively open in the second half of the year.
Additionally, the company is currently renovating the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok to elevate quality and service standards; the hotel continues to operate as usual during renovations. Presently, ERW has a network of over 100 hotels, covering all price segments.
Tawanna also shared that ERW is planning to develop a combo hotel project, featuring both a midscale and an economy hotel under two brands in a single project, located in the city’s central business district near Phrom Phong and Asoke BTS stations. Land acquisition for the project is already complete, and the hotels are expected to slowly open between 2029 and 2030 to support future growth.
KGI Securities (Thailand) recommends a “Buy” on ERW and has revised the target price up to THB 3.40 per share (from the previous THB 3.20 per share). Earnings in 2Q26 are expected to grow year-on-year, supported by a strong revenue per available room (RevPAR), although profits may soften quarter-on-quarter due to seasonality.
Nevertheless, earnings momentum in the second half is anticipated to accelerate further, driven by continued growth in advanced bookings, with July 2026 bookings showing single-digit growth compared to the previous month. The business segment, supported by large-scale meeting, incentive, conference, and exhibition (MICE) events and international concerts in 4Q26, should further boost occupancy rates and RevPAR, driving profit growth.
Accordingly, earnings forecasts for 2026 – 2027 are revised up due to stronger-than-expected recovery in revenues and operations. The 2026 – 2027 profit projections are raised by 6.2% and 3.9% to THB 967 million (+15%) and THB 1.0 billion (+6%), respectively, due to the hotel business rebounding faster than anticipated, based on two main factors:
1) An improved RevPAR growth assumption of 5% year-on-year (initially 2%), supported by the year-to-date RevPAR growth of 4% and an expected upward trend in the second half;.
2) An increased gross margin assumption to 58.9% (from the previous 58.1%), reflecting better operational efficiency and cost-control effectiveness. In 1Q26, gross margin rose to 61.7%. The main margin is expected to increase to 11.4% (near 2024’s 11.5%), supported by positive operating leverage and strict cost management discipline.
