While economic conditions remain volatile, SCG remains committed to robust business operations, rapid adaptation, and immediate implementation as its approach for advancing business in both short and long term, creating an organization that grows continuously through all situations.
Mr. Thammasak Sethaudom, President and CEO of SCG, stated, “SCG’s goal is to transform its business to be strong, healthy, and agile, which is clearly evident from our strong operational cash flow, or EBITDA. With strong EBITDA, we can invest when good opportunities arise, reduce debt, and continuously pay dividends to take care of all shareholders.”
In 2024, SCG managed its operational cash flow, or EBITDA, through intensive cost management, accelerating development and delivery of high-value innovations, and expanding into new export markets. As a result, SCG achieved an EBITDA of 53,946 million baht in 2024, maintaining the same level as 2023, demonstrating stability and strength. The company was able to pay dividends for 2024 at the rate of 5.00 baht per share, totaling 6,000 million baht, representing 95% of profits. At the same time, SCG reduced its net debt by 16,777 million baht from the third quarter of 2024.
“EBITDA truly demonstrates SCG’s strength. This is our flexibility, because if you look only at profit, you might not see the strength, as SCG has recently commissioned a new plant, the Long Son Petrochemicals (LSP) project, which has recognized all depreciation costs. But if you look at operational cash flow, you can see that the business still has the potential to generate continuous revenue.”
This year, SCG aims to push EBITDA even higher, building continuous strength from positive factors in ASEAN markets, especially in Vietnam and Indonesia, which are SCG’s strategic markets and countries with GDP growth projections above the global average. This growth is supported by domestic purchasing power, government economic stimulus, and foreign investment, which are positive factors for business groups related to cement and construction products. In Thailand, infrastructure investment from government budget disbursements is expected to continue.
For the packaging business, or SCGP, consumption within ASEAN, including demand for packaging paper, is showing an upward trend. In the chemicals business, or SCGC, the petrochemical cycle is beginning to stabilize and oil prices are trending downward. The company continues to improve efficiency in cash flow and cost management.
The CEO of SCG emphasized, “The key opportunity this year is to sell products in export markets with opportunities, while adapting quickly and continuing to efficiently manage operational cash flow, which has already shown good results from last year. With agility and high flexibility, we will be ready to seize various opportunities immediately.”
Some of SCG’s innovations being exported worldwide include North America, Australia, and Asia. SCG Cement and Green Solutions exports low-carbon cement, with export volume expected to reach approximately 1 million tons this year. SCG Decor has received positive feedback for its high-strength X-PORCELAIN tiles, with export growth targeted to double this year. Meanwhile, SCGP continues to see growth in exports of polymer packaging, food packaging, and printing paper.
In terms of adaptation efforts, progress is on track. A clear example is SCGC accelerating the LSP project by increasing ethane gas feedstock, which helps reduce costs and enhance long-term competitiveness. The company has successfully secured a long-term ethane gas supply contract for approximately 1 million tons per year over 15 years and has chartered three long-term ethane gas transport vessels. The company will expedite the procurement of the remaining two vessels, along with constructing storage tanks and upgrading the plant to be ready to receive ethane gas by 2027. This project is funded by SCG’s internal resources.
The investment budget was initially set at 700 million US dollars, but has now been reduced to only 500 million US dollars, which will accelerate the return on investment. The ethane gas project will be a Game Changer that can effectively revitalize SCG’s chemical business.
Published on: Mar 6, 2025
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