TRC plans bid for pipelines

SET-listed TRC Construction Plc, an industrial and petrochemical pipeline builder, plans to bid for two additional gas pipelines belonging to PTT Plc, the oil and gas conglomerate, aiming to generate revenue growth in the coming years.

Chief executive Pasit Leesakul said the two projects are worth 43.2 billion baht and are expected to open for bidding this month and in the first quarter of 2017.

The first PTT project is an 8.2-billionbaht, 119-kilometre overland pipeline carrying natural gas from Ratchaburi province to Wang Noi district in Ayutthaya province.

The second project is a 435km overland gas pipeline running from Rayong province through Prachin Buri east of Bangkok, then north to Pathum Thani and finally Ayutthaya. The project is expected to open for two phases of bidding.

Mr Pasit said the company was granted a letter of award to construct a Asean Potash Mining Co (APMC) project worth US$500 million, with $1 billion for another potash factory.

In the third quarter of this year, the company had a total revenue of 1.2 billion baht, up 299 million baht from the same period last year when it had total revenue of 870 million baht.

Net profit in the third quarter was at 63 million baht, rising by 49 million baht from the previous quarter, he said.

Growth in third-quarter revenue was due to the development of a gas pipeline from Saraburi to Nakhon Ratchasima province, which is a joint venture of Sinopec and TRC.

Additional revenue also came from the construction of Asean Potash Mining Co in Chaiyapum province, which began early this year.

Mr Pasit said the construction of the APMC project includes the preparation and refurbishment of existing ground, as well as surface processing plant and facilities — together worth 855 million baht.

For the first nine months of this year, TRC posted a total revenue of 2.7 billion baht, up 136 million baht from the same period of last year, with net profit of 157 million baht.

TRC shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 1.49 baht, up two satang, in trade worth 31.6 million baht.