• 
• 

Published on March 4, 2008

President Kittichai Raktakanit yesterday said the company had increased its prices since the start of the year because it could not shoulder rising costs, including an increase of about 30 per cent in steel prices.

"We raised our prices by 4-5 per cent last year. Nonetheless, we need to continue boosting the prices by 3-5 per cent this year in line with rising costs," he said.

Kittichai said demand for property and industrial construction was still growing despite higher costs.

"Most property projects are shifting to serve demand from high-end customers. They will not be affected strongly by rising costs because their prices have a huge margin," he said.

However, he believes new projects will slow down this year if construction costs continue to increase.

Meanwhile, General Engineering announced it had cleared a retained loss of Bt109 million and recorded a profit of Bt51 million last year, thanks to its policy of controlling operating costs and improving productivity.

CEO Vichaya Chatikavanij said the company expected to gain a minimum retained profit of Bt13 million this year.

The company had revenue of Bt1.06 billion in 2007, an increase of 7 per cent from the previous year. Concrete piles accounted for 52 per cent, concrete walls and floors made up 17 per cent and other construction business 31 per cent.

General Engineering projects revenue will grow by 12 per cent to about Bt1.2 billion this year, with the same revenue proportions.

The company plans to increase its gross margin from 13 per cent to 15 per cent by focusing on reducing concrete waste and improving its management. 

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation