Shareholders of Thai Oil approve $1-bn bond issue

The shareholders also approved a dividend of Bt4.50 per share based on its financial results for last year 2016. 
The company paid an interim dividend of Bt1.50 per share last year, and the additional Bt3 per share will be paid on April |28 to shareholders named as such by March 1.
Thai Oil reported net profit of Bt21.22 billion last year, up 74.22 per cent from the Bt12.81 billion it netted in 2015. Revenue last year was Bt277.48 billion, down by 6.7 per cent from the Bt297.31 billion it reported in 2015.
President and chief executive officer Atikom Terbsiri said at yesterday’s shareholders’ meeting that the company would budget $300 million for maintenance and development of its facilities such as truck-loading bays, port infrastructure and oil tanks.

Clean-fuel project 
The company is also studying clean-fuel projects, and may invest more to develop its fuel and create more value for its products for the long term, he said.
However, when shareholders asked how much would be invested in such projects, Atikom said he could not provide a figure but added that the company had to prepare to invest for the long term. 
He also explained that the company was interested in adding value to its products to increase sales revenue, such as investing in technology to produce jet fuel from fuel oil. Currently, about 9 per cent of the company’s output is fuel oil.
He added that the company also was studying how a move towards electric vehicles could affect the demand for oil in the long term, though he believes it will take more than 20 years for electric vehicles to replace conventional cars.
The company is researching and developing its products to sustain long-term growth by adding value to its products, especially clean-fuel projects, he said.