We anticipate sector earnings growth to improve QoQ in 3Q24 despite the appreciation of the baht against the USD, thanks to high season and support from overall electronic demand in addition to the AI-driven replacement cycle for smartphones and PCs plus capacity expansion in the sector. We keep Outperform on KCE and HANA on good growth in core earnings in 2H24 and continued laggard valuation, discounted to 5-year historical average PE and to global peers. We maintain Neutral on DELTA as valuation is high and it may be affected by implementation of the global minimum tax.
Global electronics outlook in 2H24 remains solid. SIA, IDC and Gartner expect 17-20% growth in global semiconductor revenue in 2024 to US$624bn. Backing the growth is recovery in the consumer electronics market and a booming AI industry, plus the AI-smartphone and AI-PC replacement cycle.
Smartphone market also expected to show YoY growth in 2H24. Canalys forecasts 4-5% YoY growth in global smartphone shipments in 2H24, spurred by the use of AI in smartphones, which will lead to a new upgrade cycle in 2H24. The event to watch is the launch of iPhone 16 on September 10. Investors expect this phone to be the biggest smartphone upgrade with AI-driven technology.
Expect modest growth for global automotive sales, driven by EVs. S&P Global Mobility and ING research forecast growth in global new car sales of 2.6-2.8% in 2024, driven by EVs. NEF forecasts global EV sales growth of 25-30% YoY in 2024. This will spur sales for automotive-related firms KCE (70% of total sales), DELTA (29%) and HANA (23%).
DELTA affected by GMT implementation. On March 1, 2024, the Thai Revenue Department released a draft legislation for the adoption of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT). This tax would erode DELTA’s bottom line, reducing net profit by ~12% per year if implemented. Neither KCE nor HANA will be affected, as KCE’s major shareholder is a Thai national and HANA’s revenue is below the minimum criteria.
Expect Thai electronics earnings to continue to improve in 3Q24. Despite the impact on performance from the 6.9% QTD appreciation of the baht against the USD, we preliminarily forecast core earnings growth for the three electronics companies under coverage at 5.6% QoQ, with all three seeing growth QoQ: DELTA at 5.5%, HANA at 7.0% and KCE at 5.0%. On a YoY basis, the sector’s core earnings are expected to improve 13.2%, growing at DELTA (17.8%) and KCE (18.4%) on better overall electronics demand; however, the weaker IC business YoY will pull HANA’s earnings down 23.9%.
Valuation & recommendation. We assign Outperform to KCE (2025 TP Bt55) and HANA (2025 TP Bt56) on core earnings growth in 2H24 and continued laggard valuation, discounted to 5-year historical average PE and to global peers. We maintain Neutral on DELTA (2025 TP Bt109), seeing its valuation as high and in view of the potential impact from the global minimum tax.
Key risks are changes in customer purchasing power, prolonged geopolitical unrest, resumption of the US-China tech war and exchange rate volatility. Key ESG risks are labor management and suppliers (S).
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