BANGKOK – Prima Marine PCL, Thailand’s largest marine transport services provider, debuted on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) today, welcomed by investors.
Management hopes to increase the PRM fleet over the next three years as it seeks to expand support across the region, while introducing new routes and meeting increasing demand for transport vessels for oil, petroleum and petrochemicals, amid the increasing demand for oil generated by ongoing growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr Chanwit Anakkul, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PRM, which also provides transport vessels in support of offshore exploration & production and manages an entire fleet serving both domestic and overseas clients in the Asia-Pacific region, said that after a well-received IPO of 650m shares at 8 baht, trading began successfully on the SET today, trading as high as 11.30 baht.
Anakkul explained that the company plans to increase its capability in the transport and storage of crude oil, petroleum products, semi-finished oil products and liquid petrochemicals, as well as improve support for offshore exploration work and petroleum production, and the management of fleets. Major plans to expand the fleet between 2017-2019 include:
– Nine transport vessels of 3,000-10,000 DWT each, with a projected cost of THB 2.340 billion, giving the company an increased transport capacity of 3.800 billion litres a year, and;
– Eleven large transport vessels comprising a 14,000 DWT ship, a Medium Range (MR) vessel, a Large Range (LR) vessel, an Aframax tanker and a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), handling growth in the transport business, and supporting its marine transport and FSU business. The value of this project is THB 6.890 billion, expecting to increase the transport volume by another 16.700 billion litres per year.
– Expansion of the marine transport and FSU business, increasing the capacity to store oil, with the purchase of another Four vessels. The project is worth THB 4.200 billion, meeting the growth of the marine transport and storage industry for crude oil and petroleum products in South-East Asia.
– The purchase of Two floating, storage and offloading (FSO) vessels for oilrigs. Total project value is around THB 1.090 billion, meeting the growth of offshore exploration and production in Thai waters as well as in the neighboring countries of South-East Asia.
“As of 30 June, we had 24 vessels. We seek to increase the number continuously over the next three years to improve our potential in oil and liquid petrochemicals transport, both quantitatively and qualitatively, as well as expand our boundaries with new shipping routes such as those from Thailand to Myanmar, China and Japan. We will also expand our client base, especially from neighboring countries in South-East Asia with good growth prospects,” said the CEO.
Mr Manpong Senanarong, Managing Director of Kasikorn Securities PCL, in his capacity as financial adviser and co-lead underwriter, added that PRM, “possesses more than 30 years’ experience in the business. This allows the firm to manage its fleet to cope with the growing oil demand in the Asia-Pacific region. It has also adopted a plan to increase its liquid petrochemical transport activities. Its post-IPO debt-to-equity (or D/E) ratio is expected to drop from the existing level of about 2,” he added.
Miss Veena Lertnimitr, Executive Vice President, Siam Commercial Bank PCL, on behalf of SCB Securities Co Ltd, co-lead underwriter for the IPO, noted PRM’s bright growth prospects as the company sought to enlarge its fleet while oil demand in the Asia-Pacific region was growing at 3% annually. She added that world demand reached a new high of 1.557 billion tonnes the previous year, which would contribute positively to the company’s future growth, while the company’s annualized revenue growth rate over the past three years (2014-16) stood at 11%.