Banpu to post higher revenues

Banpu to post higher revenues

BANGKOK: Banpu PCL, a Thai coal miner and power producer, expects to post higher sales this year due to rising production from its Indonesian coal mines, the company's chief executive said.

Banpu's sales this year will likely reach 13 billion baht with a net profit around 1.4 billion baht, said Chanin Vongkusolkit late on Friday.

In 2002, its sales totaled 10.91 billion baht, with a net profit of 1.45 billion baht.

"Our bottom line this year would be mostly from our operations as we would not have the foreign-exchange gain as recorded last year," said Chanin.

In 2002, it booked a foreign-exchange gain of 616.3 billion baht.

Production from Indonesia coal mines is expected to rise 7 percent to 12 million metric tons this year, while production from Thai coal mines will stay around 3 million tons, about the same as last year, said Chanin.

In 2005, Banpu's sales are expected to rise to 18 million tons a year in line with growing coal demand in Asia, he said.

Chanin said the company is looking at opportunities to operate coal-fired power plants in India, Indonesia and the Philippines in a bid to add value to its coal business.

The investment for each project would be in the range of US$100 million to $300 million, and each project would generate 100-300 megawatts of electricity, he said. -- Dow Jones