Central Pattana (CPN), Thailand's largest retail property developer under the umbrella of Central Group, reported strong growth in the first quarter of this year.
Its total earnings reached 10.2 billion baht in the first quarter, an increase of 27% from the previous year.
Net profit rose 39% to 3.25 billion baht from the same period of last year.
The real-estate and retail conglomerate has also revealed the company's five-year investment plan for 2023-2027, with a total investment of 135 billion baht. CPN aims to develop more than 200 projects that include 25 mixed-use projects in 30 cities in Thailand and Asean.
Naparat Sriwanvit, chief financial officer and senior executive vice-president for finance, accounting and risk management for CPN, said the company's earnings for 2022 have recovered rapidly with a positive trend, particularly the shopping centres that have earnings on par with the level recorded before the pandemic.
Moreover, the firm has introduced a new business model dubbed "The Ecosystem for All" with a "seamless synergy" theme to connect various business sectors of the company and synergise all businesses, with "retail" as the main key that connects residential buildings, office buildings and hotels throughout the entire system.
As of March 2023, CPN manages 39 shopping malls and 17 community malls, along with 33 food courts, 10 office buildings, five hotels and 28 residential projects.
These include 37 Central shopping centres, one Esplanade shopping centre and Mega Bangna (under a joint venture).
Residential projects of the CPN group include condominiums under the Escent, Escent Ville, Escent Park Ville, Phyll and Belle Grand Rama 9 brands, and low-rise projects under the Escent Town, Escent Avenue, Ninya Kallapaphruek and Niyham Boromratchachonnani brands, and a variety of low-rise projects under the Nirati brand in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Bang Na and Don Mueang.
CPN plans to launch several new projects in 2023-2024, including Central Westville, scheduled to open on Oct 27 this year, Central Nakhon Sawan in the first quarter of 2024, Central Nakhon Pathom in the second quarter of 2024, and Central Krabi in the fourth quarter of 2024.
CPN also plans to open other projects this year including Centara Ayutthaya, Centara One Rayong, GO! Hotels adjacent to Central Si Racha and Central Chonburi, and seven residential projects comprising Nirati Nakhonsithammarat, three new housing projects and three Escent condominium projects.
In addition, the company has also co-invested with Dusit Thani Plc in Dusit Central Park, which is scheduled to open in stages from 2024 onwards.
All this follows a successful business expansion according to the company's plan with the launch of Centara Ubon and Marché Thonglor community mall in March 2023, which are now officially open.
CentralWorld also opened Tesla's first supercharger station in Thailand and the first store of Shake Shack, a well-known US fast-casual restaurant chain.
CPN said it remains committed to fulfilling the needs of everyone's lifestyles, both online and offline. Under the vision of "Imagining Better Futures For All", the company said it strives to create a better future while caring for society and the environment and ensuring sustainable growth.
CPN has been selected as "Thailand's Most Admired Company" as the No.1 shopping centre operator for 2022-2023 based on surveys and research by Brand Age and voted by consumers nationwide.
As a sponsor, major shareholder and property manager of CPNREIT, Central Pattana continues to support CPNREIT to ensure stable appropriate long-term returns to shareholders.
In the first quarter of this year, CPNREIT's performance also had a strong recovery due to CPN.
CPNREIT's total income was 1.42 billion baht, an increase of 28% year-on-year. Net profit was 1.14 billion baht, an increase of 28% year-on-year.
