WHA Corporation Public Company Limited (WHA Group) has demonstrated robust performance with land sales in the first quarter of 2023 soaring to nearly 1,000 rai, benefiting from global megatrends that are shifting production bases into WHA industrial estates. Recently, a major data center group acquired over 900 rai and is in negotiations with numerous other clients in sectors such as automotive, automotive parts, electronics, and electrical appliances. The company aims to achieve land sales of 2,500 rai in 2023. The logistics business has shown remarkable growth, while the water and electricity sectors have rebounded strongly alongside the petrochemical, power generation, and automotive industries. In the first quarter, total revenue and normal profit share reached 3,294 million baht, with normal profit at 1,445 million baht.

WHA Corporation Public Company Limited (WHA Group) reported its first-quarter results for 2023, with total revenue and profit share of 3,242 million baht and net profit of 1,508 million baht. When considering normal operations, total revenue and normal profit share were 3,294 million baht, down 38%, and normal profit was 1,445 million baht, down 30% compared to the same period last year, which had the highest quarterly profit in the previous year. The industrial estate business continued to grow, driven by investments from industrial clients, particularly in the data center sector, while the logistics business expanded significantly, with increased demand for short-term leases and a recovery in the water business due to rising water usage from power generation and petrochemical sectors.

Ms. Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, Chairwoman and CEO of WHA Corporation Public Company Limited (WHA Group) stated that in the first quarter of this year, the industrial estate business saw sales reach 951 rai, and the logistics business grew significantly, along with continuous expansion in utilities and electricity sectors. These reflect WHA Group's strong growth potential.

Logistics Business: In the first three months of 2023, the company signed lease agreements for Built-to-Suit projects and ready-made factories/warehouses totaling 43,840 square meters, along with high-return short-term leases of 63,385 square meters. Currently, the company manages a total warehouse area of 3,221,676 square meters. Recently, the company was selected by a chemical manufacturer and distributor to lease warehouse and factory space for hazardous goods totaling over 4,700 square meters and is in negotiations with several major clients for additional projects, expecting to sign contracts soon.

WHA Group continues to expand its logistics centers, including the WHA Mega Logistics Center Bangna-Trad Km. 23 (inbound) and WHA Mega Logistics Center Theparak Km. 21, which have received excellent responses, with nearly full occupancy. At the same time, the company is accelerating the development of new projects to meet customer demand, including WHA Mega Logistics Center Chonharpichit Km. 4 Project 2, which began construction last October, and WHA Mega Logistics Center Theparak Km. 21 (Phase 3), which is over 50% complete. Additionally, the company is preparing to launch the new WHA Manufacturing Park 331 project in a strategic logistics location to accommodate the increasing number of industrial clients.

The first logistics center in Vietnam, located in the Minh Quang Industrial Estate in Hung Yen Province, has received excellent feedback. By the end of the first quarter of 2023, the company signed additional contracts with several logistics service providers, resulting in an occupancy rate exceeding 80%.

Regarding the plan to sell assets and/or lease rights to assets to the WHART and WHAIR trusts, the recent WHART unit holders' meeting approved additional investments in assets totaling over 99,390 square meters, valued at 2,508 million baht. Meanwhile, the company is preparing to propose to the WHAIR unit holders' meeting for consideration of investments in related assets covering 45,000 square meters, valued at approximately 1,100 million baht, within the second quarter of 2023.

Industrial Estate Business: In the first three months of 2023, the company recorded total land sales of 951 rai against a target of 2,500 rai for the year, with land transfers of 296 rai. Additionally, the backlog of land sales awaiting transfer to clients stands at a high of 1,426 rai, reflecting strong demand for industrial land due to the trend of relocation of investments and production bases to Southeast Asia, coupled with global geopolitical uncertainties, particularly the US-China trade war and the situation in the Middle East. This has led foreign investors to choose countries with high stability and security. Thailand benefits from these factors, with strong fundamentals, including ready infrastructure, efficient supply chains, skilled labor, and the potential to be a regional market hub in ASEAN, consistent with investment promotion requests in the first quarter of 2023 exceeding 1 trillion baht, an increase of over 2.4 times from the previous year, led by the digital industry with the highest investment value of 873,741 million baht, accounting for 86% of the total value. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled 965,869 million baht, growing by 261% compared to the previous year.

“In February, the company signed a land sale agreement with a major data center client for over 900 rai, reflecting confidence in the infrastructure and ecosystem ready to support Thailand's digital and modern technology industries. We are also in negotiations with major clients from various industries, including data centers, automotive and automotive parts, electronics, and electrical appliances,”

By the end of the first quarter of 2023, the company had a total of 17 industrial estates in Thailand and Vietnam, with over 10,230 rai under construction and awaiting development in Thailand, particularly the new WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 5 (WHA ESIE 5) covering 7,250 rai, which has garnered significant interest, with the first land transfer expected in the second quarter of 2023. In Vietnam, the company has developed industrial zones totaling 4,241 rai (678.5 hectares), including WHA Industrial Zone 1–Nghe An in Nghe An Province and WHA Smart Technology Industrial Zone 1–Thanh Hoa in Thanh Hoa Province to meet the increasing demand from foreign clients.

Utilities Business (Water): In the first quarter of 2023, total water sales and management both domestically and internationally reached 42.6 million cubic meters, an increase from the previous year. In Thailand, water sales amounted to 33.7 million cubic meters, growing by 9% from the previous year, particularly raw and industrial water, which increased in line with demand from power generation and petrochemical sectors, rising by 12% and 10%, respectively. Additionally, revenue from capacity charges from major clients amounted to 326 million baht. In Vietnam, water sales based on shareholding stood at 8.9 million cubic meters, slightly down due to reduced demand from key clients in the Duong River project.

Electricity Business: In the first quarter of 2023, total solar power sales reached 76 gigawatt-hours, an increase of 55% from the previous year, with a continuous growth trend. The company signed six additional solar power project contracts with a total capacity of 22 megawatts, resulting in a cumulative total of 372 megawatts for Private PPA projects, with total power generation capacity based on shareholding at 1,058 megawatts, including 735 megawatts already operational (206 megawatts from renewable energy) and 323 megawatts under development, all of which are renewable energy projects.

Recently, WHAUP signed an MOU with Apex Circuit (Thailand) to develop a 17-megawatt solar project, along with a model for “Direct PPA” and Third Party Access (TPA) to enhance smart infrastructure. However, in this quarter, profit share from the electricity business decreased due to maintenance shutdowns at the GEKCO-1 power plant, but the company expects performance to gradually recover in the second and third quarters of 2023 after improvements to enhance production efficiency.

Digital Business: Following the success of transforming into a technology-driven organization last year, WHA Digital is advancing its Digital & AI Transformation projects through key platforms, including Mobilix Software Solution, an intelligent digital platform, and WHASApp, which features CO2ZERO for real-time carbon footprint management and WeCYCLE for managing recycling waste, enhancing operational efficiency across the group.

Additionally, WHA Digital has laid out a three-year roadmap under the “Flight of the Future” project to create an Intelligent Enterprise Ecosystem by 2028, aiming to develop the organization into an intelligent ecosystem that effectively connects data, systems, personnel, and decision-making, allowing for quick adaptation and planning for future growth. The project also emphasizes building personnel and AI culture through the AI Playground project, a testing ground to transform winning prototypes from the “WHA Hackathon 2025” into commercial products.

Mobility Business: The company announced its full-scale entry into the green logistics market under the Mobilix brand, becoming the first comprehensive green logistics solution provider in Thailand, covering three main services: EV Rental Service for comprehensive electric vehicle rentals, EV Charging Solution for both in-house and public charging stations with related equipment, and Mobilix Software Solution, an intelligent digital platform for managing electric vehicles and batteries. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the company has provided electric vehicle rentals totaling over 413 units, reflecting the growth of the business and the increasing demand for green logistics solutions.

In addition to the successful performance in the first quarter of 2023, in March, WHA Group successfully issued its first bond of 2023 worth 3,500 million baht, with institutional investors responding positively, resulting in oversubscription of more than two times the offered amount, reflecting investor confidence in the company's growth potential, which aligns with its strong financial structure. Recently, the shareholders' meeting approved a total dividend payment for the year 2023 of 0.2107 baht per share, with an interim payment already made of 0.0669 baht per share and an additional payment of 0.1438 baht per share scheduled for May 28, 2023, reinforcing the strong growth opportunities across all five business groups of WHA Group.