Tirathai expects flat growth next year

This is the same level as this year, because the company is not yet convinced about the strength of the country's economic recovery.

Managing director Samphan Wongpan yesterday said the company had doubts about a recovery, even though it had witnessed better orders last month.

He said that if the economy were to remain subdued next year, investment would also be affected. Therefore, the company has to be more cautious about spending a large amount on investment in the coming year.

"We will not allocate a huge budget for investment next year but will improve our machinery, on which we expect to spend Bt30 million to Bt50 million," he added.

Tirathai posted revenue of Bt1.14 billion in the first nine months - up by 14.34 per cent over the same period last year - but net profit dropped by 6.56 per cent to Bt53.6 million.

Samphan said the company believed profit this year would still be higher than last year's level, because of a backlog worth Bt1.51 billion.

"The fourth quarter is the high season for power transformers. We have scheduled to deliver Bt870 million of the backlog this quarter and the remainder next year," he said.

Tirathai has secured new overseas contracts worth about Bt200 million.

The company expects to maintain its gross profit margin at 27.5 per cent next year, the same level as this year, and this will help it to maintain its revenue.

Moreover, the company has fixed raw-materials procurement prices in order to ensure it is not hit by price volatility.