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Published on August 15, 2007

TUF's quarterly profit of Bt430.2 million came despite recent baht pressure.

The company increased sales by more than 14 per cent in US-dollar terms and 4 per cent when calculated in baht.

TUF said it would meet its second-half growth targets. Second-quarter sales reached US$396.4 million (Bt13.51 billion), up 14.37 per cent from $346.6 million a year ago.

"In the second quarter, appreciation of the baht against the dollar remained a challenge. As much as 90 per cent of our sales are exports paid in dollars," president Thiraphong Chansiri said.

The company managed its foreign-exchange position with hedges. However, Thiraphong said, "Execution is still subject to periodic market situations."

In addition to foreign-exchange management, the company cut costs and diluted risk associated with single-market or -product dependence.

For the first half of the year, the company's net profit was Bt957.9 million, up from last year's Bt756.1 million.

First-half sales surged to $757.9 million, equal to 8.72-per-cent growth from $697.1 million last year.

"Sales of tuna and shrimp grew 14 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, in dollar terms during the quarter," Thiraphong said.

Tuna dominated with half of all sales, significant because during the period, skipjack-tuna prices neared historic highs. The surge reached $1,200 a tonne last month.