Siam Cement fourth-quarter net profit up 11% YoY

Siam Cement PCL, Thailand's largest industrial conglomerate, said on Wednesday its 4Q14 net profit rose 11 per cent due mainly to improving margin for its petrochemical business despite an inventory loss.

Net profit was THB8.86bn (US$271.53m) for the October-December quarter, beating analysts' forecasts.

For the whole of 2014, net profit dropped eight per cent to THB33.6bn (US$30.66m), the company said in a statement.

Ceiling of bond issue raised
Meanwhile, Siam Cement also announced it will raise ceiling of its bond issue by THB50bn (US$1.53bn) to THB250bn (US$7.67bn) and the proceeds would be mainly used to finance its expansion in Southeast Asia.

The country's top industrial conglomerate planed to issue up to THB30bn bonds in April and the issue will be separated in two tranches, according to a statement by the company.