Report to SET

15/Nov/99
The Company's Performances for the Third Quarter and the Nine-Month Period Ended 30 September 1999

The company's performances in respect of the third quarter are as follows :

(1) From the statements of income on the company only, the profit from operation in the third quarter of 1999 totalled Bt96.46m. After included a loss on exchange (Bt203.41m) and depreciation on residue pond (Bt21.02), there was a net loss of Bt127.97m, being comparatively better than that of the same period of 1998 in which Bt472.18m net loss was recorded. This was attributed to 4.72% decline in the total revenues but 24.69% decrease of the total expenses, partly due to 1999's higher sales revenue by Bt71.37m or 7.08% from the greater sales volume and the averaged LME price for zinc which evenly increased by 10.7%. On the other hand, the cost of sales rose at a comparatively lower rate (5.03%) than that of the sales revenue. In addition, the selling and administrative expenses in the same period of 1998 equal to Bt597.44m included an allowance for loans and accounts receivable accrued in respect of a subsidiary (Bt526.44m).

(2) In the first nine-month period of 1999, the profit from operation amounted to ponds (Bt38.54m), a net loss was Bt16.55m, being slightly higher than the same period of 1998, in which a net loss was Bt6.88m despite a significant reduction in the sales revenue (by Bt662.27m or 17%). This was mainly due to early-1998's extra export sales brought forward from late-1997 of some Bt500m, coupled with lowered sales value derived from export sales due to the stronger Baht (at Bt43.5 = US$1.0 compared to Bt37.2 = US$1.0 in 1999 period). However, the total revenues and total expenses in the first nine months of 1999 was evenly down by 23.49% and 23.22% respectively due to the 1998's allowance for a subsidiary's bad debts as referred in paragraph (1).

(3) From the consolidated financial statement, in the first 9-month period, the company has a net profit from operation equal to Bt224.96m. After included a loss on exchange (Bt197.69m), and extraordinary items on residue ponds and subsidiary, there was a net loss of Bt57.88m, being significantly less than the same period of 1998 in which a net profit of Bt543.17m was recorded due to a decrease of the total revenues (by 23.14%) at a greater rate than an increase in the total expenses (by 11.86%). This was attributed to a decline in the sales revenue by Bt666.56m (as detailed in paragraph (2) above) and a significant drop of other income, while the cost of sales was down by Bt422.22m.