Thai Beverage: A 5% Dividend Yield Hiding in Plain Sight?

Hi Folks, welcome back to Investment Income for Life. Today we're putting Thai Beverage ("ThaiBev") on SGX under the microscope. It is one of the region's largest beer-and-spirits conglomerates (Chang Beer, SangSom, and now F&N), and a name that keeps showing up in income portfolios. 2 years back, I was vested in ThaiBev. In a way I was lucky to have sold off all my shares when its market price was between S$0.55 per share to S$0.61 per share- I would have suffered  a huge loss if I had held it longer. At that time, I recalled the dividend yield were just 3.7% to 4.8%. Recently, I have begun to build back stakes into ThaiBev in view of the healthier balance sheet with debts pared down and the higher dividend yield of 5.2%-5.3% dividend yield at only a mere 60% payout ratio.

1. Dividend Per Share — Steady and Rising

ThaiBev's fiscal year runs to 30 September; dividends are declared in Thai Baht (interim in May, final in February):

Fiscal Year	Interim DPS (THB)	Final DPS (THB)	Total DPS (THB)
FY2023 (Oct'22-Sep'23)	0.15	0.45	0.60
FY2024 (Oct'23-Sep'24)	0.15	0.47	0.62
FY2025 (Oct'24-Sep'25)	0.15	0.47	0.62

Payout ratio crept up from ~54% (FY2023) to 61.4% (FY2025) as profit softened, but management held the absolute dividend flat rather than cut it — a shareholder-friendly signal.

2. Share Price and Dividend Yield

ThaiBev's share price has drifted lower over the past three years even as the payout held steady — pushing the dividend yield up nicely:

Period	Share Price Range (S$)	Approx. Dividend Yield
FY2023 (Oct'22-Sep'23)	0.550 - 0.720	~3.7%
FY2024 (Oct'23-Sep'24)	0.435 - 0.575	~4.8%
FY2025 (Oct'24-Sep'25)	0.445 - 0.595	~5.0%
Latest - 18 Sep 2026	~0.440	~5.2%

At ~S$0.44, ThaiBev trades near its 52-week low of S$0.41 — hence the yield climbing past 5%, among the more attractive on the SGX consumer-staples board.

3. Management Deserves Credit — Deleveraging in Progress

Net interest-bearing debt to EBITDA improved from 3.08x (FY2023) to 2.92x (FY2024), then ticked to 3.22x in FY2025 — almost entirely from consolidating Fraser & Neave (F&N), not distress borrowing:

Fiscal Year	Net Debt / EBITDA	Interest Coverage
FY2023 (Sep'23)	3.08x	-
FY2024 (Sep'24)	2.92x	7.31x
FY2025 (Sep'25)	3.22x	6.73x

Interest coverage stays healthy at ~6.7x, and management keeps refinancing cheaper — in July 2026 ThaiBev secured a THB6.5bn sustainability-linked loan from Krungsri Bank. Sensible treasury management, not leverage drift.

4. Upcoming Catalyst — The BeerCo IPO

ThaiBev has long floated spinning off BeerCo (Chang Beer, Sabeco) via a ~20% SGX listing. Shelved a few times on weak markets, the plan was revived to ride stronger global equity conditions — with talk of a separate spirits listing too. A successful IPO could unlock value, bring in a partner, and fund further deleveraging — a key catalyst into 2027.

5. Parting Thoughts

ThaiBev isn't a growth story, but the 5% plus dividend yield is decent pay while waiting, and management is tidying the balance sheet. BeerCo's IPO is the free option that could re-rate the stock. Not financial advice — do your own homework and due diligence as usual.

Ok folks, that's all from me today. Have a great week ahead!