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BEC World
Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) has maintained its long-term "buy" recommendation on BEC World shares, with a fair-value estimate of Bt25 apiece.
Nielsen Media Research said spending for advertising on Channel 3 rose 9.4 per cent in April and May, beating 7.4-per-cent negative growth for the rest of the industry. Channel 3's market share has also risen, from 22.2 per cent last year to 25.1 per cent in the first five months of this year.The biggest advertiser, Unilever, spent 18.1 per cent more with Channel 3 last month, the highest spending growth by an advertiser on an individual-station basis. Meanwhile, the channel's average minutes of advertising sold are expected to increase from about 670 minutes a month in last year's second quarter and the first quarter of this year to more than 700 minutes a month. BEC is therefore expected to deliver on its impressive second-quarter earnings and growth forecasts. New rating restrictions for some programmes screening before 8pm and 10pm are expected to have a negligible impact on BEC revenues. The new rules apply to all television stations, but the ratings are determined subjectively by individual stations. Therefore, the broker sees less chance of viewers shifting from Channel 3 to other channels. BEC also has some time to adjust its programmes before the rules take affect in two or three months.
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