Veranda Resort Public Company Limited (VRANDA) anticipates a bright outlook for the tourism business in the second half of 2024, following positive signals from the revenue of its hotel and resort operations in July and August 2024, which showed growth compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year. The company also sees interest from international tourists in locations such as Bangkok, Pattaya, and Samui, believing that the tourism sector will continue to grow into the fourth quarter, supported by a surge in bookings from MICE and leisure travelers towards the end of the year, boosting revenue for VRANDA's hotels and resorts in both the third and fourth quarters, aiming for an overall annual growth of 20%.

Mr. Phawatk Ongwasit, CEO of Veranda Resort Public Company Limited (VRANDA), a leader in the hotel, resort, real estate development, and lifestyle business, stated that the overall tourism situation in Thailand for 2024 has already passed its lowest point during the second quarter, which is typically the low season for the industry. He believes that the tourism and hotel sectors in the latter half of 2024 will experience strong growth, as evidenced by clear recovery signals in the first two months of the third quarter (July-August), which showed growth compared to the previous quarter. The locations attracting high interest from international tourists include Bangkok, Pattaya, and Samui. This growth trend is expected to continue into the fourth quarter, with a noticeable increase in bookings from MICE and leisure travelers towards the end of the year, positively impacting the revenue growth of VRANDA's hotel and resort business this year.

Based on the performance signals from the hotel business in the first two months of the third quarter, including occupancy rates and average room rates that have clearly recovered from the second quarter of 2024, supported by a continuous increase in international tourist arrivals since the beginning of 2024, VRANDA sees an opportunity to implement strategies to attract these tourists by expanding its market among international travelers from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Additionally, building brand confidence and consistently providing impressive customer service, along with offering promotions and services that meet customer needs, are key factors driving the growth of the hotel business in the latter half of the year.

In the real estate development sector, VRANDA has successfully transferred ownership of the Veranda Pool Villa Hua Hin Cha-am project continuously since the beginning of 2024, resulting in a 130% growth in revenue from real estate development in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. This growth is expected to continue throughout the year, with anticipated ownership transfers in the third quarter expected to surpass both the previous quarter and the same period last year, along with positive factors from the ownership transfer of the Veranda Villa and Suites Phuket project at the end of this year, which is expected to contribute to VRANDA achieving its target of 20% overall revenue growth.

The positive factors supporting VRANDA's growth are expected to become even clearer in 2025 with the full-year operation of the new hotel, “Veranda Resort Phuket - Autograph Collection,” which features 159 rooms on over 10 rai of land in the Phanwa-Aoyon area, with a project value of over 1.3 billion baht, under the premium management chain ‘Autograph Collection’ of Marriott International. Additionally, the hotel will offer an extension of 20 more rooms at Veranda Collection Samui - Rocky Resort, bringing the total number of rooms available on Koh Samui to 70. Meanwhile, in the real estate development sector, VRANDA will have the Veranda Villa and Suites Phuket project, valued at approximately 860 million baht, with ownership transfers expected to continue throughout 2025.

Kasikorn Securities has released an analysis of Veranda Resort Public Company Limited (VRANDA), recommending a buy with a target price of 10.07 baht per share. Currently, it is trading at a PER of 19.5 times and is projected to be 17.2 times in 2025. Despite the overall tourism market being in a low season during the second quarter, it is expected that VRANDA will benefit from revenue from property ownership transfers and the launch of new hotels, which will significantly support profit growth compared to the quarterly and first-half performance of this year against the same period last year. Meanwhile, Yuanta Securities estimates that VRANDA should return to trading at +/- 6.00 baht per share at a minimum.