Asean-focused. Ex-Head of Thai Research

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

Asean (Thailand) Focused Independent Research

M Corp Review

M Corp is led by Athaporn Arayasantiparb who served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 17 years, of which 14 were in research and 4 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006. Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also provides six on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely: 1) Silicon Stories (technology) 2) Sathorn Series (financial services) 3) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin stories) 4) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative) 5) Thai Media Spotlight; and 6) Thai Macro Watch (global market drivers).

Equity Bottom-Up

We met up with two small companies today, namely Aapico and TMILL, and neither of them is doing well. Perhaps, this is just a reflection of how poor the economy is right now. In any case, this is a quick run-down:<ul>
<li>
Earnings were down 45.8% for Aapico and 8% for TMILL in Q1'19. Aapico blamed the end of their BOI tax privileges, while TMILL blamed high wheat prices.</li>
<li>
Fighting against gravity. Isuzu's sales in Thailand is barely growing at 1.4%. In Malaysia, Honda sales actually sunk 8.2%. These are the two important platforms (potential customer base) for Aapico in their two largest markets.</li>
<li>
Some impact from trade wars. While not yet a major issue, TMILL sees trade wars affecting exchange rates and impacting their input costs. For Aapico, tariffs are a big deal, but they sidestep this as their main production bases are not in China.</li>
</ul>

We met up with two small companies today, namely Aapico and TMILL, and neither of them is doing well. Perhaps, this is just a reflection of how poor the economy is right now. In any case, this is a quick run-down:

Earnings were down 45.8% for Aapico and 8% for TMILL in Q1'19. Aapico blamed the end of their BOI tax privileges, while TMILL blamed high wheat prices.

Fighting against gravity. Isuzu's sales in Thailand is barely growing at 1.4%. In Malaysia, Honda sales actually sunk 8.2%. These are the two important platforms (potential customer base) for Aapico in their two largest markets.

Some impact from trade wars. While not yet a major issue, TMILL sees trade wars affecting exchange rates and impacting their input costs. For Aapico, tariffs are a big deal, but they sidestep this as their main production bases are not in China.


In addition to crunching the industry numbers provided to us by Toyota, we also visited Thai Rung. Thai Rung is one of the smallest and least profitable of the auto stocks, though they seem to have finally turned a corner in this quarter. The company has joint ventures with Japanese firms Kogyo and Kyowa to build seats and car cabins, and they supply Isuzu for the export markets and Tata domestically. In 2017, Thai car exports shrank for the first time, primarily due to high base effects in…

In addition to crunching the industry numbers provided to us by Toyota, we also visited Thai Rung. Thai Rung is one of the smallest and least profitable of the auto stocks, though they seem to have finally turned a corner in this quarter. The company has joint ventures with Japanese firms Kogyo and Kyowa to build seats and car cabins, and they supply Isuzu for the export markets and Tata domestically. In 2017, Thai car exports shrank for the first time, primarily due to high base effects in…

The Autobot Update (March): Riding on the Big Boy's Coattails

We visited almost 30 companies during the past two months, and the five favorite for this quarter would be Forth, Erawan, Ananda, THREL (ThaiRe Life), and AH. Granted, the first three were profiled in earlier selections, but that's the thing with good companies: They stand the test of time yo. We have met Aapico many times earlier, but never really like the company this much. Clearly, it's the Sakthi deal that has brightened things up for them. The strong export outlook also helps. We have been…

We visited almost 30 companies during the past two months, and the five favorite for this quarter would be Forth, Erawan, Ananda, THREL (ThaiRe Life), and AH. Granted, the first three were profiled in earlier selections, but that's the thing with good companies: They stand the test of time yo. We have met Aapico many times earlier, but never really like the company this much. Clearly, it's the Sakthi deal that has brightened things up for them. The strong export outlook also helps. We have been…

The Best of August / September Company Visits

Toyota hasn't sent us monthly stats in a while, so we decided to supplement the series by visiting some automaker Aapico and a maker of leather seats, IHL. We were pleasantly surprised by Aapico's turnaround and their new joint venture with Sakthi, an Indian automaker with complementary product lines and footprint in the West. It's fair to say that despite strong earnings, Aapico's turnaround and new growth cycle has only just started. Unfortunately, with share prices jumping 30% since our last…

Toyota hasn't sent us monthly stats in a while, so we decided to supplement the series by visiting some automaker Aapico and a maker of leather seats, IHL. We were pleasantly surprised by Aapico's turnaround and their new joint venture with Sakthi, an Indian automaker with complementary product lines and footprint in the West. It's fair to say that despite strong earnings, Aapico's turnaround and new growth cycle has only just started. Unfortunately, with share prices jumping 30% since our last…

The Autobot Update (September): Aapico's Indian Turnaround

CEO, A. Stotz Investment Research

Dr. Andrew Stotz, CFA

Quantamental Investing to beat Benchmarks

A. Stotz Investment Research

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<ul><li>The future of AAPICO Hitech – Expanding into the Japanese, US and European markets through a joint venture with Sakthi Global Auto Holdings.</li><li>Not worrying too much about debt – It’s important to have a positive mentality about debt by focusing on utilizing that debt effectively rather than simply worrying about paying it off.</li><li>How to deal with investment bankers – In a long-term business, you can’t remain successful just by impressing the analysts and investment bankers with your next quarter.</li></ul>

The future of AAPICO Hitech – Expanding into the Japanese, US and European markets through a joint venture with Sakthi Global Auto Holdings.Not worrying too much about debt – It’s important to have a positive mentality about debt by focusing on utilizing that debt effectively rather than simply worrying about paying it off.How to deal with investment bankers – In a long-term business, you can’t remain successful just by impressing the analysts and investment bankers with your next quarter.

Business DNA: Entering the Global Auto Market

Thailand

AAPICO Hitech Public Company Limited is a global automotive parts manufacturer and supplier, producing metal forming, plastic, casting, forging, and machining parts for OEMs. The company also operates car dealerships and is involved in Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and mobility solutions. Headquartered in Ayutthaya, Thailand, it was founded in 1996.

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AAPICO Hitech (AH TB)

Aapico and TMILL: Sign of the Times

We met up with two small companies today, namely Aapico and TMILL, and neither of them is doing well. Perhaps, this is just a reflection of how...

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

The Autobot Update (March): Riding on the Big Boy's Coattails

In addition to crunching the industry numbers provided to us by Toyota, we also visited Thai Rung. Thai Rung is one of the smallest and least...

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

The Best of August / September Company Visits

We visited almost 30 companies during the past two months, and the five favorite for this quarter would be Forth, Erawan, Ananda, THREL (ThaiRe...

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

The Autobot Update (September): Aapico's Indian Turnaround

Toyota hasn't sent us monthly stats in a while, so we decided to supplement the series by visiting some automaker Aapico and a maker of leather...

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

Business DNA: Entering the Global Auto Market

The future of AAPICO Hitech – Expanding into the Japanese, US and European markets through a joint venture with Sakthi Global Auto Holdings. Not...

A. Stotz Investment Research

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

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