Three locally-listed firms reported positive business performance in the first quarter of this year, ended March 31, as Cambodia navigated its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic after the government’s push towards the full resumption of socio-economic activities started in early November.

In a financial statement filed to the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on May 17, Advanced Bank of Asia Ltd (ABA), a subsidiary of National Bank of Canada, reported 12,622 new loans worth $590.3 million in the quarter, raising its gross loan portfolio by eight per cent to $5.8 billion as of March 31.

On a quarterly basis, ABA’s deposit portfolio gained six per cent to $6.7 billion, while its customer base grew by eight per cent, with accounts totalling 2.2 million at end-March.

ABA chairman Yves Jacquot stressed that the Kingdom in January-March was on a “recovery curve” from the acute phases of Covid.

“The country’s reopening in November last year was amplified in March 2022 when Cambodia abolished PCR and rapid tests for fully vaccinated passengers. It is believed to improve international tourism and positively impact local businesses, especially in the hospitality sector,” he said in the filing.

Meanwhile, RMA (Cambodia) Plc (RMAC) reported gross profit of more than $75.47 million for the first quarter, up by over 2.6 per cent year-on-year from $73.5 million, but a 10.8 per cent dip in total revenues to $430 million, from $482 million in the same period last year.

RMAC chairman Kevin Whitcraft noted in his company’s CSX filing that the Kingdom had logged a marginal uptick in Covid-19 infections, albeit with fewer deaths, which he interpreted as a “progressive return to normality” from the pandemic.

“This is great news which derives from the great efforts on vaccination, which has been envied by many surrounding countries. Combined with the opening up of Cambodia during this period.

“During the same period, RMAC has accomplished solid sales performance. However, compared to 2021 sales of vehicles have reduced somewhat on the back of limited inventory – resulting from a combination of the temporary impact of new governmental regulation enforcing the importation of EURO4 compatible vehicles-only starting” on January 1 and “global logistic challenges”, he said.

Similarly, Grand Twins International (Cambodia) Plc (GTI) posted total revenue as well as profit before and after tax of 111.98 billion riel ($27.58 million), 2.051 billion riel and 1.117 billion riel respectively for the first quarter, figures it says represent a “slight increase” over the corresponding periods of previous years.

GTI chairman Yang Shaw Shin said in his company’s filing to the local bourse: “We continuously to maintain good relationship with our main customer namely Addida [sic], in order to received more purchase order in 2020, meanwhile, we continuously collaborate with other customers to increase our other revenues such as from subcontract and CMP to stablized [sic] and gain higher revenue than previous year.

“For further quarters of 2022, we will commit to keep more effort to enhence [sic] our corporate governance and accomplish our vision and mission. Our target is to achieve higher profit more than previous years,” he added.