Thailand’s Siam Cement: softer earnings
SCC is expected to announce a 4Q07 net profit of Bt5.2bn, up 11.4% YoY but down 31.1% QoQ. With no extraordinary items throughout the quarter, its normalized profit is expected to be Bt5.2bn, down 11.1% YoY and 7.5% QoQ. This is attributable to a deceleration in the performances of its chemical and paper units, and flat cement earnings. For the year, stripping out extra gains of Bt4.5bn from the divestment of its stake in other businesses, SCC’s normalized profit is forecast to be Bt25.4bn, down 14.9% YoY, as poor domestic-oriented earnings offset its robust chemical unit.
SCC’s 4Q07 cement EBITDA is expected to be Bt2.5bn, down 2.0% YoY but up 4.5% QoQ. The slight decline YoY would be from the timid domestic cement demand, while the increase QoQ is propelled by the newly-adjusted domestic cement selling price since December of around Bt200 per ton, up 12% from the previous level. In 2008, earnings from SCC’s cement unit is expected to improve following the mild domestic demand growth of 5% and domestic cement
price adjustment taking effect for the full year. Thai News Service. Published under Cement News
