Thai TPI Polene Q3 profit jumps on debt gain

12 October 2005

TPI Polene PCL , Thailand’s third-largest cement maker, said on Wednesday its third-quarter earnings surged, due mainly to gains from restructuring the company’s hefty debts. TPIP reported a net profit of 3.2 billion baht ($78 million), or 4.10 baht per share, versus a 141 million profit in the same period year ago. The earnings were in line with analyst expectations of about 3.25 billion baht. Excluding the 2.6 billion baht gain from debt restructuring, the company posted an operating profit of 572 million baht, up four-fold from the same period of 2004. Third-quarter sales rose 1.3 percent to 5.6 billion baht, while expenses declined 3.6 percent to 5 billion baht, the company said.

TPIP raised $285 million from a public share offer last year and used the proceeds to buy back debt at a discount, which helped reduced its debt load to about $600 million. TPIP is 49-percent owned by Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), Thailand’s largest corporate defaulter. TPI plans to sell its 30 percent stake in the cement maker to raise funds for TPI’s own debt restructuring plan.