Sakol Energy plans IPO for fuel expansion

Chief executive officer Chutchai Sumethchotimetha said the company plans to list its shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand this year to raise funds to expand its existing natural gas vehicles (NGV) stations business as well as other energy businesses.
Chutchai said that SKE had filed an application for a listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). The company's registered capital is Bt465 million and its paid-up capital is Bt346.40 million. It plans to offer up to 237.2 million shares at Bt0.50 each in par value, representing 25.51 per cent of the total number of ordinary shares of the company in the fourth quarter of this year.
Currently, the existing shareholders control 100 per cent of the shares, with Sumethchotimetha and Nuntee families hold 72.22 per cent and 27.78 per cent, respectively. After the IPO, both groups will hold a combined 74.49 per cent of the shares.
 “We plan to invest in NGV-related businesses and other energy projects. First, we will add capacity to existing stations to increase our revenue potential,” Chutchai said.
“Also, we will improve our NGV compressing system to raise efficiency. Our next potential project is to open a retail NGV station in Nakhon Sawan under an ex-pipeline project. This project will enhance the company's overall revenues and profitability.”
SKE is one of Thailand's largest NGV private mother station operators (PMS), distributing NGV to PTT's transportation network. The company is a pioneer among PMS operators.
SKE provides services for the compression of NGV gas and then distributes the gas to the trucks provided by PTT Group. It has improved the natural gas quality in order to meet the regulatory standards. The company has a combined capacity of 750 tonnes per day, or 273,750 tonnes a year. :We have two PMS stations, both under a 20-year long-term contract with the PTT Group,” Chutchai said.
 “The first one is the Pathum Thani private mother station, in Samkok district. This PMS accommodates NGV gas demand in the metropolitan area, with initial compressed natural gas capacity and reserves of around 350 tonnes a day.

Demand in Northeast 
“The second PMS station is the Saraburi private mother station, in Kaeng Khoi district, Saraburi. This PMS supports the demand for natural gas NGV in the Northeast region, with a maximum capacity of 400 tonnes a day.
“With the expected industrial and economic expansion in the Eastern Economic Corridor and in the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam), along with the government's investment in mega-projects, there will be a strong increase for fuel demand," said Chutchai.
He said that the company had a bright outlook on Thailand's energy industry. However, there are several challenges ahead, including the growing demand for renewable energy and fast-changing technology that requires a lot of investment capital.
SKE said it had achieved a solid financial performance. In 2016, the company's revenues were Bt414 million, up from Bt363 million in 2015 and Bt297 million revenues in 2014. The company's net profit was Bt128 million in 2016, up from Bt117 million in 2015 and Bt110 million in 2014. The company had a high net profit margin of 30.80 per cent in 2016, with the figure being 32.10 per cent 2015 and 37.07 per cent in 2014.
The company posted Bt163 million in revenue in the first six months of this year, and Bt38 million in net profit. This is a decline from Bt202 million and a net profit of Bt67 million for the same period last year. It said the reasons for the 19 per cent drop in revenue are a decrease in NGV sales and the compression fee. The company's net profit margin for the period was 23.52 per cent, due to a decrease in service revenue and an increase in administrative expenses to support future growth.
On June 30, the return on equity was 14.43 per cent and the return on assets 10.76 per cent. Its debt to equity ratio is 0.54 times.