Best Q1 result for Thoresen Thai in five yearsBest Q1 result for Thoresen Thai in five years

Bangkok-headquartered TTA reported a THB427m ($13.1m) net profit for the first quarter ended 31 December 2013, compared to THB121m loss in the same period a year earlier.

Its dry bulk shipping arm, Thoresen Shipping, enjoyed a good first quarter with a 490% jump in next profit to THB117m. “The unit achieved day rates of $10,446 per day compared to $7,542 during the same period last year as the dry bulk shipping industry began to recover from a prolonged cyclical downturn,” TTA said.

However, a stronger turnaround was posted by offshore marine unit Mermaid Maritime which posted a THB238m first quarter net profit compared to a THB2m loss a year earlier.

Commenting on its results TTA president and ceo Chalermchai Mahagitsiri said: “We are pleased to see that the efforts we have put into driving higher margins while maintaining advantageous cost structures across our portfolio of businesses have begun to bear fruit. The outlook for the rest of 2014 and beyond continues to show upside, and we expect resilient oil and gas exploration activity, sustained recovery in the dry bulk shipping industry, and growth in our Vietnam businesses to drive TTA’s results in the months and years ahead."