Reuters reported that Shares in Banpu Pcl rose to their highest in almost two months after the country biggest coal miner provided a positive business outlook, outweighing weaker than expected quarterly earnings.

Banpu shares rose 2.2% to THB 468 the highest since July 19. The stock had fallen 14.7% so far in 2012 underperforming a 19.1% gain of the broader index. It was down 26.3% in the April to June quarter.

Maybank Kim Eng Securities rated the stock buy saying it was cheap compared to its target price of THB 560 and it expected an improvement in market demand in the year end due to seasonality.

It said in a report "We believe a sharp share price correction in the second quarter has somewhat reflected the plunge in coal prices to USD 80 per tonne to USD 90 per tonne."

Nineteen out of 22 analysts rated the stock at buy or strong buy, two put it at hold while one analyst had a strong sell' rating.

Banpu said it expected coal mines in Indonesia, its core production, to produce 7.2 million tonnes in the third quarter versus 6.62 million tonnes in the second quarter and it aimed for 27 million tonnes in 2012.

Source - Reuter

(www.coalguru.com)