ZURICH — DKSH Holding AG rose the most since its initial public offering in March 2012 after the Swiss company that helps businesses expand in Asia said that Thailand, its biggest market, is improving and reported net income that beat estimates.
“DKSH managed to increase net sales in Thailand by 3% in local currencies compared to last year, thereby further taking market share from local competitors” in the first half, Chief executive officer Joerg Wolle said on a conference call today. DKSH, formerly known as Diethelm Limited, generated about 34% of its net revenue in the country in the period. The shares jumped as much as 8.2% in Zurich.
Net income fell to 91.3 million francs ($101 million) from 102.3 million francs a year earlier, the Zurich-based company said in a statement. That beat the 87.9 million-franc average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The first signs of a recovery in Thailand’s economy are visible, it said.
“Very positive was the free cash flow improvement,” Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel, said by e-mail On Monday. “I guess the market appreciated as well that the consumer confidence in Thailand saw a trough last April, with improvements in May and June.” Mr Bertschy recommends holding the stock.
The shares climbed 6.8% to 68.05 francs at 1.54pm, valuing the company at 4.43 billion francs. Trading volume was almost three times the daily average of the past three months.
Free cash flow at constant exchange rates of 166.7 million francs was almost at the level of a year earlier, DKSH said.
DKSH sees signs for a turnaround in consumer confidence in Thailand, Mr Wolle said on a conference call. Full-year results may exceed the level of 2013 excluding currency shifts, he said, without being more specific.