Thai PTT Chemical Q3 profit down, meets forecasts

BANGKOK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - PTT Chemical PCL PTTC.BK (PTTCH), Thailand's largest olefins maker, reported a 6.8 percent fall in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday because of lower output, meeting market forecasts.

PTTCH, a flagship in the olefins petrochemical business of energy giant PTT PTT.BK, posted a July-September net profit of 4.93 billion baht ($141 million), down from 5.28 billion baht a year earlier.

The profit was in line with an average forecast of 4.99 billion baht from five analysts surveyed by Reuters. Analysts expect earnings to fall in the fourth quarter as the company plans to shut one of its plants for maintenance for 50 days.

PTTCH produces ethylene and propylene, together called olefins, used to make plastic pellets, especially for the packaging industry. ($1 = 34.93 Baht) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Alan Raybould)