Siam Cement net profit down, approves investment, Thailand

Siam Cement PCL said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit fell 13 per cent from a year earlier, mainly because of higher expenses and cost of sales. Meanwhile, its board has approved THB16.5bn (US$53.6m) worth of cement investments to increase its footprint in Southeast Asia.

The company posted a net profit of THB6.42bn (US$208.8m) for the three months ended 30 September, compared with THB7.38bn in the same period a year earlier, its filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand showed.

Sales increased 10.6 per cent to THB104.29bn from THB94.28bn, while the cost of sales rose 9.1 per cent to THB88.80bn from THB81.43bn and total expenses grew 14.9 per cent to THB9.39bn from THB8.17bn.

Analysts expect Siam Cement's fourth-quarter earnings to be weak because slow demand in its petrochemical business should outweigh a strong performance in cement and building materials.

In terms of new cement investments, the company plans to spend THB11bn on a new cement plant in Indonesia and THB5.5bn on an expansion of its cement business in Cambodia.