Forex cited as one cause of TTA net loss in fiscal Q3

TTA executive vice chairman Chalermchai Mahagitsiri said the two main reasons for the net loss were extraordinary items. These were a Bt230-million provision on inventories at coal logistics operator Unique Mining Services (UMS) due to lower coal prices and Bt192 million in foreign-exchange translation losses due to the weakening of the baht against the US dollar. 

Absent these two extraordinary items, TTA would have reported a net profit of about Bt27 million, he said.

“While we continued to operate in a challenging environment within some of our core businesses, we were pleased to see Mermaid perform well in the third quarter, as it entered its high season and began to reap greater benefits from significant contracts with large oil and gas companies, including Saudi Aramco,” he said. 

“At the same time, Baconco continued its strong performance, with quarter-on-quarter growth across both its fertiliser and warehouse segments. 

“For dry-bulk operator Thoresen Shipping Singapore, revenues and EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] edged up slightly from the previous quarter, and while we continued to operate on a cash-positive basis, the freight-rate environment for the entire industry remained challenging throughout the quarter.” 

The company’s president and chief executive officer, ML Chandchutha Chandratat, said TTA’s results were driven primarily by Thoresen Shipping and Mermaid, which stand at opposite ends of their respective industry cycles. 

“While this is exactly the scenario we envisaged as part of our efforts to diversify, the other investments we have made have not yet reached the scale to offset fully a prolonged industry downturn in any one of these two core businesses,” he said.

“Despite the challenges, the company fully expects Thoresen Shipping to continue being a cash-flow-positive business, and as the supply side of the industry begins to rationalise itself over the next year, we remain confident that both Thoresen Shipping and TTA will return to consistent profitability in due course. 

“Prospects remain very strong for Mermaid, and we expect this business to continue operating in a robust market over at least the medium term. Baconco, meanwhile, will remain a consistent contributor. 

“Looking at the fourth quarter and beyond, a key area of improvement for us will be UMS, where we will focus on regaining access to our Samut Sakhon port, developing a pelletisation solution for 0-5-millimetre coal, and exploring an entry into international coal trading, all with the aim of improving long-term profitability,” Chandchutha said.