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Thoresen Thai improves in third quarter

Thoresen Thai improves in third quarter
Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) has reported a loss of THB273m ($8.7m) for the third quarter to 30 June, down from a THB2.3bn loss in the same period last year. Excluding a THB192m foreign exchange loss and a provision on coal inventories, the group would have turned a THB27m profit.

Mermaid Maritime, the group's offshore services company, moved from a THB20m EBITDA loss last quarter to a positive THB528m in Q3; Revenues rose 38% over the same period last year, spurred by a 28% rise in average day rates for subsea engineering to $86,943 per day.

TTA's bulker operator Thoresen Shipping saw an increase in its average fleet for the third quarter, from 21.2 vessels in 2012 to 27.7 ships, pushing a 22% rise in revenues to THB1.1bn. The group forecasts an increase in dry bulk freight rates in the second half of 2014 on the back of a predicted increase in steel-related trade.

TTA executive vice chairman, Chalermchai Mahagitsiri commented, "While we continued to operate in a challenging environment within some of our core businesses, we were pleased to see Mermaid perform well in the third quarter, as it entered its high season and began to reap greater benefits from significant contracts with large oil and gas companies including Saudi Aramco. For dry bulk operator Thoresen Shipping, revenues and EBITDA edged up slightly from the previous quarter and while we continued to operate on a cash positive basis, the freight rate environment for the entire industry remained challenging throughout the quarter."

ML Chandchutha Chandratat, president and ceo added, "TTA's results are driven primarily by Thoresen Shipping and Mermaid, which stand today at opposite ends of their respective industry cycles. While this is exactly the scenario we envisioned as part of our efforts to diversify, the other investments we have made have not yet reached the scale to fully offset a prolonged industry downturn in any one of these two core businesses."