Thai Banpu Q3 net profit surges, beats forecasts

Written by Writer on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Thai Banpu Q3 net profit surges, beats forecasts

11-NOV-2008 Intellasia | Reuters
Nov 11, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM

Thailand’s top coal miner Banpu PCL reported a 81% rise in third-quarter net profit on Monday, the best quarter so far this year and well above expectations, thanks to rising average selling coal prices.

Banpu, also Indonesia’s fourth-largest coal mine operator, posted a net profit of 3.11 billion baht (US$89 million), or 11.45 baht per share, in the quarter ended September 30, up from 1.72 billion baht a year earlier.

The profit was above an average forecast of 2.95 billion baht from eight analysts surveyed by Reuters and compared with 2.3 billion baht in the second quarter.

Banpu has a stock market value of US$1.6 billion.

Banpu shares fell more than 44% in the July-September quarter, underperforming a 22% drop in the broader market index.