Mega Home Center Co, operator of the home and construction materials chain, expects the market to slow down as seasonal negative factors such as rain and floods have hurt the construction sector, especially in rural areas.
Chief operating officer Supornsri Naktanasukan said sales and construction normally decreased during the rainy season,
However, this year the sector will face higher risks from more serious floods that would hurt the market.
“Sales and revenue from upcountry areas and along the border are growing lower than expected compared with early this year,” Ms Supornsri said.
“Most of our customers are holding back their plans to fix their residences and they are not confident to spend more money to repair houses. However, we expect demand for construction materials to start to rebound in the last quarter when the rainy season ends.”
During the rainy season, Mega Home will seek ways to offset falling sales by increasing projects for small hotels and apartments in remote areas that continue to grow slowly.
Mega Home, a subsidiary of the HomePro home-improvement chain, expects its full-year revenue to reach its target of 4 billion baht, up from 2.8 billion last year, due largely to rising demand for construction materials in neighbouring countries such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Ms Supornsri said the company planned to open another 20 branches by 2019.
The value of Thailand’s construction materials market is expected to grow by 15% this year from 590 billion baht in 2014 as demand along the border increases.
However, the weak domestic economic outlook is expected to continue to weigh on growth.
Ms Supornsri still believes the government’s attempt to accelerate its infrastructure megaprojects will be a major driver for the construction materials sector this year.
Source: http://property.bangkokpost.com/news/655744/mega-home-ready-for-slowdown
