Thai Oil profit above forecasts

It reported a net profit of Bt19.17 billion last year, up 8.59 per cent from 2006. Its recorded revenue of Bt261.05 billion, down from Bt279.1 billion.

Siam City Securities said Thai Oil's net profit was above its expectation of Bt17.56 billion, due mainly to the change in the accounting method.

This prompted the broker to anticipate a 4.2 per cent increase in Thai Oil's net profit this year, as well as a 48.1-per-cent increase in revenue, to Bt386.795 billion.

ACL Securities said 92 per cent of Thai Oil's Bt2.9-billion fourth-quarter net profit came from refining. Profit from petrochemicals and the lube-base business had declined dramatically, because of rising raw-material prices, in line with crude-oil prices.

Despite a two-month shutdown of Thai Paraxylene, ACL predicted Thai Oil's profit would continue increasing, thanks to additional refining capacity and high refinery margins.

Thai Oil managing director Viroj Mavichak said the favourable performance was partly a result of the crude-distillation unit's expansion project, which increased the company's refining capacity 22 per cent in the middle of last December.

Moreover, global prices for crude oil and oil products rose, maintaining the company's gross refinery margin at a steady high level, and it received stock gains of about US$3 (Bt98) per barrel last year.

Although the product-to-feed margin of paraxylene and lube-base oil products narrowed due to feedstock costs, which rose in line with crude oil prices, Thai Oil and subsidiaries were able to realise an integrated margin of $10.53 per barrel last year, up 38 per cent from 2006.

Subsidiary Thai Paraxylene recorded revenue of Bt33.247 billion last year, down about 20 per cent from 2006. Its net profit was Bt3.401 billion, down 39.9 per cent, due to lower demand for paraxylene.

Thai Lube Base generated revenue of Bt21.582 billion, up 22 per cent from 2006. It recorded a net profit of Bt1.13 billion, down 53 per cent.

The Nation