The watchdog questions Bt4.1 million in profit sharing with the Primary Industries and Mines Department, a Bt11.6-million loan-prepayment fee and Bt5 million in associated legal fees.

The SEC asks why Tongkah Harbour's first-quarter statement lists the profit sharing as an expense when it was incurred last year and appeared in the full-year statement.

Tongkah Harbour said earlier it did not book the Bt4.1-million debit in the 2006 statement because it and the department had not reached a conclusion over details of profit division.

But, because the department demanded on March 30 this year the payment of profit sharing at the rate of 1.5 per cent of production value, it booked the expense in the first-quarter statement, the company said.

The SEC queried why Tongkah Harbour listed Bt11.6 million in early redemption charges imposed by two foreign banks when, in a note to the 2006 financial statements, it explained company subsidiaries had borrowed from a foreign bank to repay the two other overseas institutions.

The SEC sought clarification of Bt5 million in legal fees listed as an expense on the first-quarter statement associated with the repaid loan listed in the full-year statement.

Tongkah Harbour swung back into the red in the first quarter, reporting a Bt29.53-million loss. In the previous quarter, it posted a net profit.