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STOCKS
Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Plc is considering buying back its own shares to lure back investors after a persistent drop in its share price, an executive said yesterday.
The country's biggest industrial water supplier expected to submit the buyback plan for approval at a board meeting later this month, said Thidarut Kraiprasit, senior vice-president for finance and human resources. ''The price is too low and as we go forward we want to keep all of our options open and one of them is to buy back shares,'' she said.
Shares of East Water (EASTW) peaked at 5.90 baht in 2006 but since then have fallen consistently due to losses of subsidiaries it had owned. The stock hit a three-year low of 3.72 baht yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
In the 2007 fiscal year to Sept 30, East Water reported a 13% fall in net profit to 440.68 million baht. However, it expects a rise of nearly 30% in net profit for the year ending Sept 30 after raising prices and selling its half ownership of the loss-making pipe-maker Eastern Hobas.
Revenue in 2008 should also rise about 8% above the 2.43 billion baht it earned last year, Mrs Thidarut said.
She added that the company was also looking at winning back investors through paying an interim dividend this year instead of just a one-off, full-year payout.
''With our nine-month profit rising and some cash flow, we are able to pay some back to the shareholders earlier,'' she said of a 28% rise in nine-month earnings. ''If we get approval, the earliest we could pay will be in October.''
She also said this year's total payout would be higher than the 0.25 baht dividend paid last year.
Over the year starting this Oct 1, Eastern Water plans to invest 1.6 billion baht, of which 1.4 billion baht would be for developing its water pipeline systems. REUTERS
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