PTT sells 30% stake in SPRC
PTT Plc, the oil and gas conglomerate, has disposed of at least 30% of its ordinary shares in SET-listed Star Petroleum Refining Co (SPRC), reducing its shareholding from 36% to 5.41% of total shares with voting rights.
The move is part of PTT’s plans to divest of oil refinery businesses by selling its stake. It already disposed of its stake in Bangchak Petroleum Plc (BCP).
Chief financial officer Nitima Thepvanangkul said in a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that PTT gained 3.7 billion baht from the sale of the 234.5 million ordinary shares in SPRC yesterday.
PTT has long sought to dispose of its entire 36% stake in the 165,000-barrel-perday refiner to ease concerns the company holds a monopoly in the country’s refining business.
The state-backed oil and gas conglomerate owns a significant stake in three other refiners: Thai Oil, PTT Global Chemical and IRPC.
In the first half of the year it sold a 15% stake in Bangchak Petroleum to the staterun Vayupak Fund and a 12% share to the Social Security Fund.
Thailand has six refineries. SPRC accounts for 13% of the country’s refining capacity and supplies nearly a third of petrol demand.
SPRC raised 15.6 billion baht from allocating 1.74 billion initial public offering shares in 2015, including 1.39 billion shares held by PTT Plc. The move is part of PTT’s plan to spin off SPRC.
SPRC posted a net profit of 6.3 billion baht in the first nine months this year, up from 5.9 billion in the same period last year.
PTT Plc had a net profit of 22.3 billion baht in the third quarter, a 17% drop yearon-year and 28% dip quarter-to-quarter. The decline was mainly because of an impairment loss from a delayed project in Canada and lower production from its subsidiary, PTT Exploration and Production Plc.