Thai utility Ratchaburi sees lower net profit in Q2

BANGKOK, May 14 - Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL <RATC.BK> said on Thursday its second-quarter revenue and net profit would be lower than in the first quarter due to a power plant shutdown.

Ratchaburi, the country's largest private power producer, may be affected by foreign exchange volatility because some key subsidiaries had foreign debt, Managing Director Noppol Milinthanggoon told reporters.

"We can't estimate how much the shutdown will affect us because there are some factors that are out of our control," Noppol said, referring to the foreign exchange problem and a longer-than-expected shutdown at the plant.

The utility firm, which planned to shut down power plants for several periods from March to December, reported an 8 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to 1.8 billion baht ($52 million) on revenue of 7.9 billion baht.

To offset the impact of higher taxes this year, the company was exploring measures to save costs, and one of the options included debt refinancing, he said, adding that it would come to a conclusion by the third quarter.

Ratchaburi, which has debt of about 20 billion baht, was also looking for opportunities to invest abroad, especially in Indonesia, Noppol said.

At 0500 GMT, Ratchaburi shares were down 1.32 percent at 37.50 baht, while the overall market fell 3.1 percent. ($1=34.48 Baht)