PTT not bullish on full-year results
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Falling oil prices and volatile foreign exchange rates will pressure PTT Group of Companies' performance this year, the company's chief financial officer Surong Bulakul.
He said that PTT's performance in the latter half would be close to the first half. He also envisaged a possibility that the full-year results could be lower than last year.
"This year's results could be similar or lower than last year's. Oil prices fell sharply in the second quarter while the foreign exchange rates were highly volatile. Oil prices just started to head up, to US$107 per barrel due to violence in Egypt. These will not directly affect the company's fundamentals, but will send a psychological impact," he said.
He noted that while approved investment projects would go as planned, the company may reconsider the plans in the pipeline. The company has invested about Bt40 billion so far this year.
PTT estimated a loss of US$10 million for its fifth gas separation plant which suffered from a lightning strike. The damage evaluation would be concluded on August 19. Surong is unsure whether this loss would be entirely covered by the insurance policy from Dhipaya Insurance.
The plant would be shut down by at least 3 months for maintenance. This will lead to a loss of supply by 2,500 tonnes per day or 25 per cent total capacity.
