ITD reports billion baht loss but is confident it can make a comeback
Italian-Thai Development (ITD), Thailand’s largest construction company, submitted its 2023 financial statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) this week, reporting that it suffered a loss of 1.07 billion baht in the past year.
The figure is an improvement from 2022’s turnover, which saw a loss of 4.75 billion baht.
ITD reported revenue from construction contracts in 2023 as 56.93 billion baht, falling from the previous year by 2.71 billion baht, the reason being that several construction projects it is managing are approaching their final phase and therefore generate lower profits.
These projects include the dual-track railway from Saraburi to Nakhon Ratchasima provinces, a building at Chulabhorn Hospital, and the Orange Line train project in metropolitan Bangkok.
ITD’s finances have garnered the attention of the public and investors after the company announced in January it was deferring payment on its debentures worth 14.45 billion baht for two years.
On March 13, ITD informed SET that it was unable to pay salaries due to a liquidity shortfall, prompting workers to quit or lay down tools. The Labour Ministry stepped in to negotiate, resulting in the company paying overdue wages to 30% of its workers with financial support from banks.
In the financial report, ITD stated that the company and subsidiaries are strictly following the business and financial plans. ITD expressed confidence that it will be able to regain liquidity and pay off debts when they are due, while continually maintaining its business operations.
ITD said measures to improve the company’s liquidity include postponing debenture payment for two years, negotiating with banks and financial institutions for delayed repayment, streamlining the work process to reduce overlapping work and expenses, and selling assets not used in the company’s operations.
ITD is also confident that it will be awarded upcoming construction contracts for infrastructure both from public and private sectors, including roads, expressways, railways, and airport expansions in the Bangkok metropolitan area, as well as in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Krabi provinces.
