ThaiHome Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Thai Caprolactam betters 2009 revenue prediction Writer: NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG Published: 4/09/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: Business Link The Thai petrochemical operations of Japan's Ube Group are expected to post slightly better-than-expected sales revenue of 18.5 billion baht this year, thanks to rebounding global demand. Thai Caprolactam Plc (TCL) provides 9.2 billion baht in revenue to Ube Group (Thailand), which includes Ube Nylon (Thailand) and Thai Synthetic Rubber Co, said TCL vice-president Suriyon Vonpen. In 2008, the group sold 21.7 billion baht worth of goods, with 13 billion generated from TCL, he added. "After last month's performance update, we are projecting revenue this year will be slightly better than the original forecast," said Mr Suriyon. The demand for caprolactam, the material for producing nylon, has improved since the second quarter after plunging in the final quarter of 2008. The downturn forced TCL to cut its production in the first quarter of this year - the first-ever reduction since the $400-million factory opened almost 12 years ago."We have seen a V-shaped price rebound and we already ramped up production since the second quarter. Our plant in Rayong is now running at 95% of maximum capacity," he added. Caprolactam's price bounced back to $2,000 per tonne after halving from its peak of $2,400 last year. Ammonium sulphate has also improved to $120-130 per tonne, but still lower than $200 in 2008. TCL, the only manufacturer of its kind in Southeast Asia, has the capacity to produce 110,000 tonnes of caprolactam a year, together with 460,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate as a byproduct. About half the caprolactam output is exported to Asian markets such as China and Taiwan, while ammonium sulphate serves the domestic fertiliser market only, as supply is short of annual demand of 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, he said. But the industry's outlook depends on the global economy. TCL conducted a feasibility study on expanding caprolactam capacity to 130,000 tonnes a year for about 1 billion baht. The expansion would take at least two years, hopefully enough time for the global economy to fully recover, he said. Ube Industries controls 91% of TCL, set up by Prachai Leophairatana, the founder of Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) Group, now renamed IRPC Plc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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