AEONTS shares rose 2.77%, bucking the market, after Phillip Securities upgraded its recommendation to "gradual buying" and cut its 2026 target price to 96 baht following reductions to its profit and loan forecasts, though it still sees upside from the target price as well as support from a dividend expected to be higher than last year. Phillip Securities noted that AEONTS reported second-quarter 2026 net profit of 642 million baht, down 18.9% year-on-year and 19% quarter-on-quarter, due to lower interest income amid contracting loans and higher provisions. First-half 2026 net profit came in at 1.435 billion baht, down 8.2% year-on-year. Loans continued to contract, falling 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the decline from the end of 2025 to 2% year-to-date, with reductions across all loan categories, while non-performing loans rose to 5.9% from 5.6% in the previous quarter. Phillip expects loans to recover in the second half of 2026 but not enough to reach its previous forecast of 5% growth, so it cut its loan growth estimate to 0%. As a result, it expects 2026 profit of 3 billion baht, down from its previous estimate of 3.3 billion baht, and lowered its target price to 96 baht. However, a key supporting factor remains the dividend, as AEONTS declared an interim dividend of 3 baht per share, a dividend yield of 3.3%, higher than last year's payout of 2.55 baht per share, making it possible that the full-year dividend will exceed Phillip's previous estimate of 5.50 baht per share. It therefore maintains its "gradual buying" recommendation.
AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company LimitedPhillip cut its 2026 profit and loan forecasts and target price to 96 baht, but upgraded to 'gradual buying' and flagged a higher-than-expected dividend after Q2 profit fell 18.9% y/y.
