Thai firm energy absolute predicts 20% revenue growth by 2024 driven by EV demand

Energy Absolute (EA), a developer and operator of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs) listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, anticipates a minimum of 20% revenue growth by 2024. This increase, it suggests, will be primarily driven by the escalating demand for EVs in Thailand.

The tourism sector’s recuperation and corporate demand for employee shuttle services are likely to drive sales of EA’s electric buses, contributing significantly to its revenue, according to Vittaya Changeutai, EA’s assistant vice-president.

Currently, Thailand has approximately 2,200 public transport operators utilising electric buses. This number is predicted to rise to 4,000 by 2024. The shift towards EVs by bus operators, in part to evade escalating fuel prices and reduce maintenance costs, is expected to drive this increase.

Additionally, the government’s commitment to curbing PM2.5 ultra-fine air pollution, which diesel vehicles emit, should also positively impact EA’s sales, per Vittaya.

In September, EA projected a revenue of over 41 billion baht for this year. The company anticipates 46% of this revenue to stem from commercial EV and battery sales, followed by clean power generation (26%), biodiesel (22%), and other segments (6%).

In the first three quarters of this year, EA has sold and delivered over 2,000 commercial EVs, primarily electric buses. This number is expected to reach 3,000 by the year’s end. Moreover, EA anticipates delivering 3,300 commercial EVs in 2024, 5,600 in 2025, and 8,000 in 2026, reported Bangkok Post.

EA also believes that Thailand could capitalise on the ASEAN free trade area agreement if it extends to truck sales in the future, providing an opportunity for greater sales of electric trucks. Between 2009 and 2020, the registration of commercial EVs in ASEAN was at 250,000 units annually.

Additionally, Vittaya stated that EA plans to allocate 14 billion baht to bolster its business growth next year. Approximately 46% of the budget is slated for the firm’s commercial EV and battery businesses, followed by projects to upgrade power generators at wind farms (25%), and the EV charging business (13%).

In 2023, EA also ventured into two new businesses: community waste management and sustainable aviation fuel, also referred to as biofuel for aircraft.