Banpu Public Company Limited reported its third quarter 2005 result (July 1 – September 30, 2005) with a net profit rising THB 490 million, a 41 per cent higher than the same period last year, resulting from the increase of sales volume and average selling price in coal business.

Mr. Chanin Vongkusolkit, CEO of Banpu Public Company Limited, said that in the third quarter this year, the Company’s sales revenue was reported at THB 7,508 million, an increase of THB 2,723 million or 57 per cent compared to the same period last year while a net profit rose to THB 1,683 million, increasing THB 490 million or 41 per cent higher than the same period last year. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to THB 6.19 from THB 4.39 of the same period last year.

“The stronger earnings were driven by improvement in coal business as sales volume and selling price rose significantly,” Mr. Chanin said.

The Company’s average selling price in the third quarter rose to USD 37.73 per tonne or 43 per cent higher from the same period last year. Coal sales revenue, representing 99 per cent of total sales revenue, was reported at THB 7,457 million consisting of THB 6,856 million of coal sales from its own mines in Indonesia and THB 601 million of sales from domestically produced coal in Thailand. Additionally, sales of industrial mineral and other services were reported at THB 51 million accountable for 1 per cent of total sales revenue.

“Thanks to the new mine Trubaindo and improvement at Indominco mine, coal shipment in the third quarter totaled 4.62 million tonnes, increasing by 0.84 million tonnes or 22 per cent from the second quarter 2005. Trubaindo mine shipped 0.54 million tonnes compared to the debut loading of 0.08 million tonnes in the previous quarter. Indominco sales recovered by 0.32 million tonnes to 2.03 million tonnes as dry season during third quarter allowed better utilization of mining and logistic facilities,” Mr. Chanin added.

In the third quarter, Banpu received dividend income of THB 227 million from its holding in a listed power company. The continued divestment of non-core asset generated a pre-tax profit of THB 506 million, a decline of THB 189 million from the previous period. The Company’s net debt-to-equity as of September 30, 2005, was reported at 0.25 times. Total assets were reported at THB 41,331 million, an increase of THB 1,793 million or 5 per cent compared to the end of last year.

With its emphasis on management systems and good corporate governance practices, Banpu has recently shown its outstanding records as follows:
– TRIS Rating Co., Ltd., has recently upgraded the Company rating of Banpu Plc and its current debentures from “A” to “A+”.
– Banpu was ranked one of 2005 Thailand’s top ten companies with the highest corporate governance scores, resulted from a survey on corporate governance practice of the 371 listed companies in Thailand organized by Thai Institute of Directors Association.