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SUCHEERA PINIJPARAKARN - THE NATION
Published on August 20, 2008 |
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Indorama Polymers (Thailand) has upped its revenue target for the year to Bt43 billion from Bt36 billion, due an increase in its production capacity for PET polymers and higher selling prices for the products.
The company recorded revenue of Bt25.56 billion last year.
Dilip Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, said yesterday that Indorama expected higher volume growth in the second half, with full capacity from the company's recent acquisition in Europe driving operating capacity for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) polymers to about 1 million tonnes per year.
Agarwal said the outlook for PET polymers in the second half was increasingly positive, especially the spread, which will be US$230 (Bt7,853) per tonne from an average of $210 per tonne in the first six months of the year.
He said demand growth continued from all regions, not least in Thailand. Local demand for PET polymers is about 140,000 tonnes this year. Indorama forecasts that this will increase to 160,000 tonnes next year.
In response to rising demand, Indorama subsidiary Asia Pet (Thailand) will increase its annual production capacity for amorphous PET polymers by 54,000 tonnes to 180,000 tonnes, from September 10.
PET polymers can be recycled and are considered to be environment-friendly, which results in replacement growth over other packaging materials and means the plastic is preferred by beverage producers and retail markets.
Indorama reported revenue of Bt19.21 billion and net profit of Bt1.58 billion for the first half of the year.
The company's impressive performance was down to the higher blended spread of $243 per tonne, sales volume growth of 90 per cent in the second quarter and 58 per cent in the first half, and the ability to manage the impact of increases in production costs from rising energy costs through an increase in volumes.
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