The Indonesian unit of Thai Banpu wants to acquire a coal mine in Indonesia to boost production, a company official said on Tuesday.
Apimuk Taifayongvichit, chief marketing and logistics planner of the unit, PT Indo Tambangraya Megah, said it is looking for a mine in Indonesia's Kalimantan region.
Banpu has the capacity on its balance sheet to fund an acquistion, Apimuk told Reuters on the sidelines of Coaltrans conference.
Source: Reuters
Showing posts with label thailand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thailand. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Banpu Doubles Q1 Profit
Banpu Pcl, Thailand’s biggest coal producer, reported first-quarter profit more than doubled to a record after higher prices for the fuel boosted sales.
Net income in the three months ended March 31 climbed to 4.8 billion baht ($139 million), or 17.65 baht a share, from 2.07 billion baht, or 7.63 baht a share, a year earlier, the company said today in a filing to the stock exchange. That exceeded the 3.38 billion-baht median profit estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Bangkok-based Banpu, which has mines in China, Indonesia and Thailand, benefited from locking in contracts as prices surged to a record in July.
“Banpu is one of the few companies with solid earnings growth in 2009,” said Avin Sony, an analyst at ABN Amro Securities Co. in Bangkok. “Coal prices are also expected to be robust in the second quarter.”
Banpu’s shares gained as much as 2.3 percent to 318 baht and traded at 316 baht as of 10:14 a.m. local time, heading for its highest close since Sept. 26.
Sales rose 58 percent to 13.6 billion baht, according to Banpu’s statement. Coal shipments dropped 10 percent to 4.08 million metric tons in the quarter as the company closed a port in Indonesia for a week in February for maintenance, it said in separate statement.
The company’s average selling price of coal in the period surged 71 percent from a year earlier to $84.23 a ton as it signed forward contracts and increased the proportion of high- quality coal, it said.
Spot prices at Newcastle port in Australia, a benchmark for Asia, touched a record $194.79 a metric ton in July. The weekly price index gained 2.3 percent to $63.70 a ton last week, according to the globalCOAL NEWC index. Banpu gets almost all its coal from Indonesia, where it acquired its first mine in 1997.
The gross profit margin from its coal business widened to 55 percent in the first quarter from 37 percent in the same period last year on higher selling prices and lower fuel costs, the company said. The average diesel price was at 44 U.S. cents in the quarter, 52 percent lower than a year earlier, it said.
The profit increase was achieved by locking in contracts “when coal prices in the world were soaring,” Chief Executive Officer Chanin Vongkusolkit said in an e-mailed statement today. “The production cost at Indonesian coal mines also decreased due to lower diesel prices.”
The company also booked a gain of 793.6 million baht from “the settlement of coal swap contracts” in the quarter, compared with a loss of 142 million baht from transactions in the same period last year, it said.
Coal sales in 2009 may rise 13 percent from the previous year to 20.5 million tons, Chanin said today, reiterating the forecast he made March 6. About 57 percent of the output this year was sold in advance at an average price of about $72 a ton, little changed from 2008, according to his statement in March.
The profit contribution from units in the first quarter climbed 34 percent to 2.06 billion baht, boosted by its coal business in China, the company said.
Banpu paid $420 million last June to buy the shares it didn’t already own in Asian American Coal Inc., which holds a 56 percent stake in China’s Shanxi Asian American-Daning Energy Co. Shanxi Asian has operated a mine in Shanxi province since 2006 under a 25-year concession. The mine has reserves of 88 million tons and produces 4 million tons a year, Banpu said at the time of the purchase.
Source: Bloomberg
Net income in the three months ended March 31 climbed to 4.8 billion baht ($139 million), or 17.65 baht a share, from 2.07 billion baht, or 7.63 baht a share, a year earlier, the company said today in a filing to the stock exchange. That exceeded the 3.38 billion-baht median profit estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Bangkok-based Banpu, which has mines in China, Indonesia and Thailand, benefited from locking in contracts as prices surged to a record in July.
“Banpu is one of the few companies with solid earnings growth in 2009,” said Avin Sony, an analyst at ABN Amro Securities Co. in Bangkok. “Coal prices are also expected to be robust in the second quarter.”
Banpu’s shares gained as much as 2.3 percent to 318 baht and traded at 316 baht as of 10:14 a.m. local time, heading for its highest close since Sept. 26.
Sales rose 58 percent to 13.6 billion baht, according to Banpu’s statement. Coal shipments dropped 10 percent to 4.08 million metric tons in the quarter as the company closed a port in Indonesia for a week in February for maintenance, it said in separate statement.
The company’s average selling price of coal in the period surged 71 percent from a year earlier to $84.23 a ton as it signed forward contracts and increased the proportion of high- quality coal, it said.
Spot prices at Newcastle port in Australia, a benchmark for Asia, touched a record $194.79 a metric ton in July. The weekly price index gained 2.3 percent to $63.70 a ton last week, according to the globalCOAL NEWC index. Banpu gets almost all its coal from Indonesia, where it acquired its first mine in 1997.
The gross profit margin from its coal business widened to 55 percent in the first quarter from 37 percent in the same period last year on higher selling prices and lower fuel costs, the company said. The average diesel price was at 44 U.S. cents in the quarter, 52 percent lower than a year earlier, it said.
The profit increase was achieved by locking in contracts “when coal prices in the world were soaring,” Chief Executive Officer Chanin Vongkusolkit said in an e-mailed statement today. “The production cost at Indonesian coal mines also decreased due to lower diesel prices.”
The company also booked a gain of 793.6 million baht from “the settlement of coal swap contracts” in the quarter, compared with a loss of 142 million baht from transactions in the same period last year, it said.
Coal sales in 2009 may rise 13 percent from the previous year to 20.5 million tons, Chanin said today, reiterating the forecast he made March 6. About 57 percent of the output this year was sold in advance at an average price of about $72 a ton, little changed from 2008, according to his statement in March.
The profit contribution from units in the first quarter climbed 34 percent to 2.06 billion baht, boosted by its coal business in China, the company said.
Banpu paid $420 million last June to buy the shares it didn’t already own in Asian American Coal Inc., which holds a 56 percent stake in China’s Shanxi Asian American-Daning Energy Co. Shanxi Asian has operated a mine in Shanxi province since 2006 under a 25-year concession. The mine has reserves of 88 million tons and produces 4 million tons a year, Banpu said at the time of the purchase.
Source: Bloomberg
Monday, May 11, 2009
SSI Revives China Trade
Beijing's recent economic stimulus package has helped revive Sahaviriya Steel Industries' (SSI) exports of steel products to China.
The company's exports account for 10 per cent of its revenue. SSI's major export markets also include countries in the Middle East.
The Chinese stimulus package has boosted domestic spending, which directly encourages demand for more imported goods.
China is now ranked as the world's biggest auto-maker with production of 10 million vehicles in the first quarter.
SSI president Win Viriyaprapaikit said increased exports to China had fuelled the company's export growth to 10 per cent this year.
He added that the company had exported thousands of tonnes of steel to China in the first quarter.
Between 2003 and 2005, China's steel-manufacturing capacity grew rapidly, which moved it from being a steel importer to an exporting nation.
As a result, SSI's exports to China had been suspended.
However, the global economic crisis has turned the country into an importer again.
China resumed importing steel earlier this year. Last year, it exported a total of 60 million tonnes. Previously, China imported 35 million tonnes of steel products annually.
Win said that due to strong profits in the first quarter and projected better operational results for the remainder of the year, SSI would write off an accumulated loss totalling |Bt1.8 billion.
He pointed out that steel prices had hit bottom and were now beginning to rise.
Win added that the government's economic stimulus package totalling Bt1.43 trillion should focus on green projects such as those involving alternative energy.
"The government should lay out which projects it will give financial support to. They should be backing innovative technologies and also be environmentally friendly," he said, adding that it should also include technology transfer when awarding contracts for its mega-projects.
However, so far, the government has not imposed any requirements to help Thailand to become a technology developer rather than an importer of technology.
Source: Nation Multimedia
The company's exports account for 10 per cent of its revenue. SSI's major export markets also include countries in the Middle East.
The Chinese stimulus package has boosted domestic spending, which directly encourages demand for more imported goods.
China is now ranked as the world's biggest auto-maker with production of 10 million vehicles in the first quarter.
SSI president Win Viriyaprapaikit said increased exports to China had fuelled the company's export growth to 10 per cent this year.
He added that the company had exported thousands of tonnes of steel to China in the first quarter.
Between 2003 and 2005, China's steel-manufacturing capacity grew rapidly, which moved it from being a steel importer to an exporting nation.
As a result, SSI's exports to China had been suspended.
However, the global economic crisis has turned the country into an importer again.
China resumed importing steel earlier this year. Last year, it exported a total of 60 million tonnes. Previously, China imported 35 million tonnes of steel products annually.
Win said that due to strong profits in the first quarter and projected better operational results for the remainder of the year, SSI would write off an accumulated loss totalling |Bt1.8 billion.
He pointed out that steel prices had hit bottom and were now beginning to rise.
Win added that the government's economic stimulus package totalling Bt1.43 trillion should focus on green projects such as those involving alternative energy.
"The government should lay out which projects it will give financial support to. They should be backing innovative technologies and also be environmentally friendly," he said, adding that it should also include technology transfer when awarding contracts for its mega-projects.
However, so far, the government has not imposed any requirements to help Thailand to become a technology developer rather than an importer of technology.
Source: Nation Multimedia
Monday, April 20, 2009
Banpu Plans To Ship 2m Tonnes Of Coal To China This Year
Banpu, Thailand's largest coal miner, plans to increase coal shipments to China by about 30 percent to 2 million tonnes in 2009, company officials said on Monday, but that would still be lower than the level in 2007, when volumes sent to China totalled about 2.5-3 million tonnes, said Hendri Tan, assistant vice president of the company's China and North Asia marketing department.
Most of Banpu's coal comes from its mines in Indonesia, which last year exported 11.5 million tonnes of coal to China.
China's coal imports soared to record high in March at 5.72 million tonnes, according to official customs data, since international prices have slumped because of the global slowdown and because China's miners have yet to lock big local power producers into term contracts for the year.
"China's coal import spree is likely to continue at least through this year," said Hartono Widjaja, senior vice president of Marketing China & North Asia.
"The renminbi is strong and China's domestic coal production cost is not low any more. International coal is very competitive in terms of price in southern ports," said Widjaja.
But other traders have said they are less optimistic, as they find the window for coal imports short and unpredictable.
Source: Reuters
Most of Banpu's coal comes from its mines in Indonesia, which last year exported 11.5 million tonnes of coal to China.
China's coal imports soared to record high in March at 5.72 million tonnes, according to official customs data, since international prices have slumped because of the global slowdown and because China's miners have yet to lock big local power producers into term contracts for the year.
"China's coal import spree is likely to continue at least through this year," said Hartono Widjaja, senior vice president of Marketing China & North Asia.
"The renminbi is strong and China's domestic coal production cost is not low any more. International coal is very competitive in terms of price in southern ports," said Widjaja.
But other traders have said they are less optimistic, as they find the window for coal imports short and unpredictable.
Source: Reuters
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Buzz Brings Forward Lanna Manganese Ore Deliveries
Buzz Inc has commenced the $500,000 upgrade to its Lanna Project in Thailand. The Manganese Ore site will see new plant and equipment that will bring production capabilities to 25,000 mtu per month. As a result of this upgrade the company expects to make the first Mn Ore deliveries in March 2009. Previously deliveries were not planned before 2010.
The company is currently looking at several marketing options for the site production. Having the site operating at 25,000 mtu per month immediately will allow a more profitable marketing deal. Assay Reports have been requested by Glencore and Buzz Inc will be having a senior person with long history as a geologist within the international mining community prepare this documentation.
All sales have now been deferred until after the upgrade is complete. Buzz Inc holds approximately 40,000 mtu of Mn Ore and as mining will continue during the uprade expects to hold 70-80,000 mtu in processed and packed Mn Ore, this is inline with the deal on offer to Glencore.
The company is currently looking at several marketing options for the site production. Having the site operating at 25,000 mtu per month immediately will allow a more profitable marketing deal. Assay Reports have been requested by Glencore and Buzz Inc will be having a senior person with long history as a geologist within the international mining community prepare this documentation.
All sales have now been deferred until after the upgrade is complete. Buzz Inc holds approximately 40,000 mtu of Mn Ore and as mining will continue during the uprade expects to hold 70-80,000 mtu in processed and packed Mn Ore, this is inline with the deal on offer to Glencore.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Lanna Manganese Mine To Be Upgraded A Year Early
Buzz Inc has committed $500,000 to an immediate upgrade at its at Lanna in Thailand. The Manganese Ore site will see an investment in plant and equipment that will bring production capabilities to 25,000 mtu per month.
As a result of this upgrade the company expects to make the first Mn Ore deliveries in March 2009. Previously deliveries were not planned before 2010.
All sales have now been deferred until after the upgrade is complete. Buzz Inc holds approximately 40,000 mtu of Mn Ore and as mining will continue during the uprade expects to hold 70-80,000 mtu in processed and packed Mn Ore.
The company is currently looking at several marketing options for the site production. Having the site operating at 25,000 mtu per month immediately will allow a more profitable marketing deal.
As a result of this upgrade the company expects to make the first Mn Ore deliveries in March 2009. Previously deliveries were not planned before 2010.
All sales have now been deferred until after the upgrade is complete. Buzz Inc holds approximately 40,000 mtu of Mn Ore and as mining will continue during the uprade expects to hold 70-80,000 mtu in processed and packed Mn Ore.
The company is currently looking at several marketing options for the site production. Having the site operating at 25,000 mtu per month immediately will allow a more profitable marketing deal.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Construction To Commence At Thai Steel Smelter
Sahaviriya Iron and Steel Co (SIS), the operator of a 500-billion-baht smelting plant, expects to start construction by the fourth quarter of this year once it receives the green light on environmental assessment, financing and investment privileges, says acting president Win Viriyaprapaikit.
The subsidiary of the Sahaviriya Group is now waiting for the approval of its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and plans to submit an application for investment privileges to the Board of Investment (BoI) soon.
''I hope we will wrap up all legal documents within the third quarter. Once we get all the papers done, the construction will begin immediately,'' said Mr Win, also the president of SET-listed Sahaviriya Steel Industry Plc, the country's largest hot-rolled steel coil manufacturer.
The smelting project has been delayed by two years due to strong opposition by activists and local communities who fear the project's impact on their neighbourhoods.
While appeasing local communities and stakeholders, SIS has made a big stride by securing an equipment and procurement contract (EPC) for the project with Sino-International Heavy Industry Technology (Sino-HIT), which leads a consortium of Chinese equipment and technology suppliers.
The contract was signed on July 1 in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej during his Beijing visit, which was viewed by the company as a gesture of full government support.
The contract, valued at 10 billion renminbi, covers the project's first phase with a total production capacity of five million tonnes per year.
The contract also allows the same Chinese suppliers to work on the remaining phases.
The five-phase project aims to produce 33 million tonnes of steel and is scheduled to be fully completed in 15 years. The strong baht, however, might help lower the cost of the project from the original 500 billion baht.
The Chinese consortium is responsible for providing turnkey services, from plant construction and equipment procurement to production preparation. The entire process is expected to be completed within 24 months.
SIS's contract with the Chinese has helped improve its chances of securing more loans from Chinese state and private financial institutions.
''We expect to gain a syndicated loan covering the total cost of 10 billion renminbi and a seven-year repayment term,'' Mr Win said.
For its part, SIS has spent several billion baht over the last three years on engineering and ground work at the site in Bang Saphan, Prachuap Khiri Khan.
SIS hopes to soon conclude financing deals, along with purchasing contracts for ore with world exporters. World ore prices have risen by 65-80% over the past year on average in line with oil and other commodity goods.
For its initial production capacity of five million tonnes, SIS would need around eight million tonnes of ore.
Due to the high costs of raw materials, steel prices doubled in the first half of 2008. SSI expects to record sales of nearly 50 billion baht this year, up from 30 billion baht a year earlier, on the back of higher prices.
Its sales rise would also come from a higher utilisation rate, which increased slightly to half of its full capacity of four million tonnes from below two million last year.
Mr Win, however, declined to discuss margins but said he planned to run at full capacity when the smelter started operation. The smelter would help reduce SSI's costs by 35% as it would no longer need to import materials such as slab, scrap and billet.
Source: Bangkok Post
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The subsidiary of the Sahaviriya Group is now waiting for the approval of its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and plans to submit an application for investment privileges to the Board of Investment (BoI) soon.
''I hope we will wrap up all legal documents within the third quarter. Once we get all the papers done, the construction will begin immediately,'' said Mr Win, also the president of SET-listed Sahaviriya Steel Industry Plc, the country's largest hot-rolled steel coil manufacturer.
The smelting project has been delayed by two years due to strong opposition by activists and local communities who fear the project's impact on their neighbourhoods.
While appeasing local communities and stakeholders, SIS has made a big stride by securing an equipment and procurement contract (EPC) for the project with Sino-International Heavy Industry Technology (Sino-HIT), which leads a consortium of Chinese equipment and technology suppliers.
The contract was signed on July 1 in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej during his Beijing visit, which was viewed by the company as a gesture of full government support.
The contract, valued at 10 billion renminbi, covers the project's first phase with a total production capacity of five million tonnes per year.
The contract also allows the same Chinese suppliers to work on the remaining phases.
The five-phase project aims to produce 33 million tonnes of steel and is scheduled to be fully completed in 15 years. The strong baht, however, might help lower the cost of the project from the original 500 billion baht.
The Chinese consortium is responsible for providing turnkey services, from plant construction and equipment procurement to production preparation. The entire process is expected to be completed within 24 months.
SIS's contract with the Chinese has helped improve its chances of securing more loans from Chinese state and private financial institutions.
''We expect to gain a syndicated loan covering the total cost of 10 billion renminbi and a seven-year repayment term,'' Mr Win said.
For its part, SIS has spent several billion baht over the last three years on engineering and ground work at the site in Bang Saphan, Prachuap Khiri Khan.
SIS hopes to soon conclude financing deals, along with purchasing contracts for ore with world exporters. World ore prices have risen by 65-80% over the past year on average in line with oil and other commodity goods.
For its initial production capacity of five million tonnes, SIS would need around eight million tonnes of ore.
Due to the high costs of raw materials, steel prices doubled in the first half of 2008. SSI expects to record sales of nearly 50 billion baht this year, up from 30 billion baht a year earlier, on the back of higher prices.
Its sales rise would also come from a higher utilisation rate, which increased slightly to half of its full capacity of four million tonnes from below two million last year.
Mr Win, however, declined to discuss margins but said he planned to run at full capacity when the smelter started operation. The smelter would help reduce SSI's costs by 35% as it would no longer need to import materials such as slab, scrap and billet.
Source: Bangkok Post
See Also
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