The company's earnings fell sharply last year due to a drop in demand for shipping, and Managing Director Chandchutha Chandratat told Reuters it expected lower net profit again in the business year that ends in September.
"Freight rates look no better in the second half as China is likely to see slower imports, while the number of dry bulk vessels keeps rising," Chandchutha said in an interview.
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index <.BADI>, which tracks rates for shipping dry commodities, hit a 14-month low on Wednesday.
"That's why we will keep looking to invest in other businesses. We started the planning in the previous year and the investment should generate significant income over the next two years," Chandchutha said.
"The deals we are looking at should be worth $5-$20 million each," he added.
Thoresen owns 57.14 percent in Singapore-listed Mermaid Maritime , which operates offshore services and a drilling business, and owns 89.55 percent in Thai coal trader Unique Mining Services PCL.
Lower Earnings
The company reports third-quarter earnings in the middle of August and expects its net profit to be better than the 451 million baht ($14 million) in the previous quarter due to higher freight rates and a smaller loss from a subsidiary.
However, for the full year it expected net earnings to drop from 1.81 billion baht last year when it booked extraordinary profits, including gains from the repurchase of convertible bonds.
Eleven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters StarMine forecast a net profit of 1.47 billion baht for its 2010 business year.
"Our operating profit this year should be flat, or slightly down from about 900 million baht we earned last year," Chandchutha said.
Thoresen Thai, which mainly ships steel, coal, grain and other agricultural products, has 29 ships with an average capacity of 29,125 deadweight tonnes.
Its shipping business contributes 60-65 percent of revenue, with the rest coming from energy and logistics.
The company, 40 percent owned by foreign investors, expected to sell a few of its older ships on top of the seven sold in the current business year. It has about 10 ships with an average age of 23 or-24 years that it wants to dispose of, Chandchutha said.
"To bring down the age of our fleet, we are waiting for a good opportunity to buy second-hand ships and have ordered four new vessels. We have a target to own 40 ships over the next two years," he added.
Thoresen competes with local rivals including Precious Shipping and vies with Southeast Asian shippers including Malaysia's MISC Bhd (Reuters).
