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Published on November 13, 2007

The figure was 94.51-per-cent higher than the Bt884.28 million recorded in last year's third quarter. Banpu closed down 1.5 per cent yesterday at Bt398.

President Chanin Vongkusolkit said Bt1.15 billion of the earnings came from its 50-per-cent stake in BLCP and the remaining Bt565 million from coal and other operations.

"Most of the third-quarter earnings came from BLCP and the coal business, in which prices have risen in line with market rates. Premium coal sales from Indonesian coal mines have risen, as well," he said.

However, he predicted Banpu's fourth-quarter earnings would fall below those of the third quarter, because of annual maintenance shutdowns.

The company recorded third-quarter sales revenue of Bt8.64 billion, up Bt200 million, or 2 per cent, year on year, due mainly to higher selling prices for coal.

Coal sales amounted to Bt7.65 billion and accounted for 89 per cent of sales revenue, representing an increase of Bt46 million, or 1 per cent. The figure includes revenue of Bt7.5 billion from Indonesian mines and Bt167 million from domestic mines.

Sales of power and steam amounted to Bt948 million, accounting for 11 per cent of sales revenue.

CIMB GK Securities (Thailand) also expects Banpu's earnings to fall in the fourth quarter, although due to a lower contribution by BLCP.

"We expect coal prices to remain strong over the next few years," CIMB said.

The broker maintained its "neutral" recommendation and set a target price of Bt520 per share. It said key risks were Banpu's limited sales volume for coal and rising oil prices, which could negatively affect its margins.

The Nation