ThaiBev to brace for more destocking in alcohol business

It will be for one to two more months.

Given the year-long mourning season in Thailand, ThaiBev expects more destocking in its Spirits business for the next two months, a report by OCBC Investment Research noted.

"The trend of consumers trading down to white spirits may also continue. In addition, the excise tax may happen in 1H17," the brokerage firm stated.

However, the group still enjoys a 40% market share on its beer segment, given the efforts from its key competitor. Growth for non-alcoholic beverages was also intact.

"We understand that its major brands, Crystal, Est, Oishi, had increased its market share over the past nine months," OCBC said, "Generally, advertising activities planned for 4Q16 would be postponed, nevertheless, they hope that conditions would normalize further into 2017."

To recall, ThaiBev's FY16 revenue was 14.8% higher at THB139.2b, with core net profit up 14.3% to THB19b excluding the one-offs last year.