Top Thai Renewables Firm Says It Can Pay Debts After Stock Dive

By Bloomberg

Jul 01, 2024

image is BloomburgMedia_SFXC5NT0AFB400_01-07-2024_16-00-10_638553888000000000.jpg

A sign is displayed at an Energy Absolute Pcl Anywhere charging station in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Energy Absolute, Thailand’s second-largest electricity generating company by market capitalization, is using subsidies and tax breaks to put 5,000 EVs on the road by next year, backed by 700-plus charging stations. It’s also planning a $3 billion factory to make lithium-ion batteries. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s largest renewable energy company, Energy Absolute Pcl, assured creditors that it has sufficient cash flows to service all existing debt, after a sudden drop in its share price spooked the market.

The stock shed a quarter of its value on Friday after Chief Executive Officer Somphote Ahunai was forced to sell part of his 41% stake in the firm, which he said he had pledged as collateral to an overseas financial institution. The slump won’t affect existing operations, which are generating about 1 billion baht ($27 million) of cash a month, he said.

“I would like to offer my apology to all investors for being hurt by my personal financial problem,” Somphote said in a press briefing on Monday. “I was trying every means to prevent this forced sale, but my efforts appeared to be in vain.”

READ: Thai Tycoon’s Green Push Sparks Cash Strain, Sinking Stock

Somphote’s aggressive expansion into electric vehicles and batteries has triggered concern about the renewable energy company’s debt burdens. The stock has plunged nearly 70% in the last year, slashing the value of the tycoon’s stake in the company.

The energy firm’s first-quarter net profit slumped by 62% from a year earlier due to an end to government subsidies, which cut revenue at a solar power plant. EV sales in the three months through March also fell on lower demand for electric buses.

By Anuchit Nguyen