Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has posted a smaller net profit for 2014 than 2013, although it expects earnings to rise substantially in 2015, largely due to cement demand from the government's planned infrastructure projects, said president and chief executive Kan Trakulhoon.

SCG's net profit in the fourth quarter of 2014 was US$271m, up by 11% from the same quarter in 2013, as greater margins for petrochemicals helped offset losses incurred from high inventories. However, for the entirety of 2014, SCG's net profit was down by 8% at US$1.03bn.

Trakulhoon said that cement demand would rise by an estimated 6% to 42Mt in 2015. "Our forecast is based on GDP growth of around 4% in 2015 and we expect demand for cement to start rising in the second half of the year," said Trakulhoon. With greater demand at home in 2015, SCG sees cement exports to other Asean countries falling to 4Mt, down from 4.4Mt in 2014.

SCG plans to issue up to US$91.9m in bond debt in April 2015. The bond issue will be separated into two tranches, worth US$45.9m each, of three- and four-year bonds. "The money raised by the bonds is expected to be used up by the company's investment plans in 2015," said SCG. It also aims to raise the ceiling of its bond issuance by US$1.53bn to US$7.66bn, with the funds used to finance expansion in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia.

According to its five-year plan for 2013 - 2018, SCG has set aside US$6.13 – 7.66bn in its budget for investment expansion such as mergers and acquisitions. More than US$1.53bn is to be spent in 2015 on investment in mostly Asean countries. "We will still focus on cement and construction material products, as we see a great opportunity in 2015 when the Asean market becomes a single and bigger market," said Trakulhoon. SCG spent US$1.38bn on investment in 2014, down slightly from US$1.53bn in 2013.