The Thailand-Cambodia border conflict leads to ThaiBev losing 600,000 customers in the fourth quarter | Lianhe Zaobao

Thai Beverage's business has been affected by the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, resulting in the loss of 600,000 Cambodian customers who were originally in Thailand, leading to a more than 7% decline in liquor business revenue for the fourth quarter ending September. The management of Thai Beverage revealed this information during a performance briefing on Wednesday (November 26) in response to analysts' inquiries. Thailand is the main market for the group's liquor business, and the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict is one of the biggest reasons for the revenue decline in this business. The management of this company, listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange, disclosed that due to the border conflict, the group's sales agents halted sales in the affected areas for safety reasons, which lasted almost the entire quarter. The area has essentially become uninhabited, as those Cambodians who were working in Thailand have returned to Cambodia due to the border conflict, with the number exceeding 600,000, who were previously customers of Thai Beverage. In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2025 ending September, Thai Beverage's revenue fell by 7.25% year-on-year to THB 74.665 billion, with liquor business revenue declining by 7.55% to THB 25.826 billion, and beer business revenue dropping by 9.41% to THB 26.725 billion. Extended Reading Thailand and Cambodia withdraw heavy weapons from the border in three phases Border conflict severely impacts tourism and labor market, costing Thailand over 100 million baht per month This has caused the group's total revenue for the fiscal year 2025 to slide by 2.06% to THB 333.286 billion, with net profit falling by 6.81% to THB 25.361 billion (SGD 1.023 billion). Liquor is one of Thai Beverage's largest businesses, with annual revenue declining by 1.76% to THB 118.604 billion; At the same time, the revenue from the beer business fell by 2.46% to THB 123.222 billion. When asked by management, they also pointed out that the market outlook is challenging. Fortunately, the cost trends of raw materials such as sugar and rice are favorable for the group, currently down 30% to 35% compared to a year ago. Rice prices are expected to drop another 20%. In addition, the Thai government has introduced measures to boost the economy, such as promoting domestic tourism. Management therefore believes that consumer sentiment in the Thai market will improve over the next year. ThaiBev released its full-year results on Tuesday night (25th) and held a briefing on Wednesday night. ThaiBev's stock price fell by 1.06% on Wednesday, closing at THB 0.465