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Published on November 7, 2007

The stock went for Bt5.90 a share at the intra-day peak on its first day of trading yesterday before slightly weakening to end the market at Bt5.80, up 100 per cent from its offer price of Bt2.90.

The steelmaker's IPO superseded that of Thai Nondestructive Testing, which yielded 77 per cent above its offering price on its debut in September.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index yesterday jumped 1.54 per cent after a steep fall the previous day.

Mill Con managing director Sitthichai Leesawastrakul said the impressive gain was attributable to higher steel prices and a clearer political situation.

That the Jungrungreangkit family holds a 6.27-per-cent stake in Mill Con also enhanced investor confidence, he said.

Meanwhile, Lohakit Metal, one of the country's top three stainless-steel companies, is planning to launch an IPO by the end of next month, which would encourage it to grow 10 per cent this year.

Managing director Prasarn Akarapongpisak expressed confidence in launching 80 million IPO shares, accounting for 25 per cent of registered capital after listing, due to growth in the industry and the company's potential.

The price will be announced after approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Proceeds will be used to buy a slitter and other machinery to increase capacity by about 50 per cent. The rest will be used for debt repayment, which will bring down its debt-to-equity ratio to about two, and for working capital.

The company's registered capital is Bt320 million, with par value of Bt1, and paid-up capital is Bt240million.

Prasarn said the stainless-steel industry could enjoy continual growth, due to demand from the electrical-appliance, vehicle and electronics industries. Growth is usually recorded at 5 per cent a year.

The company itself will likely grow at an impressive pace this year, because its customers' competitiveness remained high despite the global economic slowdown, said Prasarn, adding that it would not actively focus on expanding external markets, which account for 11 per cent of revenue.

Moreover, the company's strengths are a sustainable customer base, experienced production know-how, supply-chain management and high-quality products, he said.

"I'm confident the company will grow very well this year, not lower than 9-10 per cent, because we have quality products and reliable suppliers," he added.

In its first fiscal quarter (April 1 to June 30), the company reported sales of Bt637 million for a net profit of Bt23 million. Sales in its entire previous fiscal year reached Bt2.1 billion for a net profit of Bt83.96 million.

Anoma Srisukkasem

 The Nation