RS to buy 50% of Inter Broadcasting
RS yesterday said it would next month buy 50 per cent of Inter Broadcasting & Sportchallenges, a sports-content service provider and organiser of local and international sporting events.
The move is part of the second-largest entertainment firm's plan to focus more on local entertainment and sports content. Broadcasting & Sportchallenges has paid-up capital of Bt50 million and a board of directors that includes Jerm Pomsatit, Sopol Yamchomcheun, Charn Kiatstillapin and Vorawut Rojanapanich. RS stock closed yesterday at Bt5.45, down 0.91 per cent. RS posted third-quarter net profit of Bt69.36 million, compared with a net loss of Bt178.27 million in the same quarter last year. For the first nine months, net profit was Bt112.51 million, compared with a net loss of Bt302 million in the same period last year. CEO Surachai Chetchotisak said earlier this week that RS' third-quarter net profit had improved from Bt35 million in the second quarter because of the organisational restructuring that began last year and higher margins. RS yesterday informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand it had guaranteed a loan worth Bt20 million for RSI-Dream Entertainment, its 51-per-cent subsidiary, which is considered a connected transaction. Boonperm Intanapasat is part of the RS management team and a major shareholder of RSI-Dream Entertainment, holding a 13.5-per-cent stake. The loan is to be used as working capital for RSI-Dream Entertainment. Globlex Securities yesterday recommended a speculative "buy" for RS shares, with a target price next year of Bt6.50. It said it would revise its net-profit projection for RS for both this year and next. It is expected to raise its anticipated net-profit forecast for RS next year by 68 per cent to Bt236 million. Globlex said that after the business restructuring, RS would focus more on content-provider services, which is more in line with consumer demand.
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