TPI Polene upbeat on 2009 earnings, Thailand
TPI Polene PCL , Thailand’s third-largest cement maker, said on Thursday it expected debt restructuring gains and dividend income to boost earnings in the third quarter and full-year 2009.
"Our third-quarter earnings will be much higher than last year’s because of gains from debt restructuring," Chief Executive Officer Prachai Leophairatana told Reuters.
The company posted a net profit of THB566m (US$16.7m) in the third quarter of last year.
"We also see full-year net profit exceeding our earlier target because of the extra gains," he said, attributing those gains in part to dividends from subsidiaries.
TPI Polene, 55 per cent owned by the Leophairatana family, entered a debt rehabilitation programme in 2000 and completed the debt restructuring in 2008 after several delays.
It had more than THB60bn in debt when it ran into trouble during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Its debt was now about THB5bn, Prachai said.
Its results for the second quarter are due later in July, and Prachai said the company would show a net profit.
In the second quarter of last year, the company booked a huge THB6.9bn provision for a fine imposed by a Thai court in December 2007 after it was convicted of stock price manipulation.
As a result, it reported a net loss of THB6.8bn for April-June 2008 and a full year 2008 loss of THB5.4bn.
The company is still appealing against the conviction but it is unclear when a verdict will be forthcoming.
Published under Cement News
