Thaicom Q1 net profit up, beats forecasts

BANGKOK, May 13 (Reuters) - Thaicom PCL THCOM.BK, Thailand's only satellite operator, said on Tuesday its first-quarter net profit doubled from a year earlier, helped by a foreign exchange gain and higher sales and services revenue.

The company, originally named Shin Satellite which operates IPSTAR, the world's largest broadband satellite, posted a net profit of 281 million baht, or 0.16 baht per share, compared with a net profit of 135 million baht a year earlier.

Nine analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average net profit of 204 million baht.

First-quarter revenue from sales and services rose 15 percent to 1.86 billion baht, a statement said, without elaborating. Analysts had expected iPSTAR user terminals to rise to 18,000-20,000 units from 9,131 in the same period last year.

In a note to clients, Kim Eng Securities said terminal sales were expected to drop in the second quarter before recovering in the second half on new orders from Thailand, Malaysia, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

The profit was also helped by a 491 million baht foreign exchange gain, up from a 461 million baht gain in the same period last year, the financial statement showed.

Four analysts have forecast the a net loss of 567 million baht this year, compared with a 3.04 billion baht profit in 2007 when it booked a huge gain from selling a 49 percent stake in wholly owned Shenington, a holding firm.

Thaicom has four satellites. The high-speed IPSTAR communications satellite, or Thaicom 4, is the key growth driver.

It was founded by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra before his relatives sold their controlling stake in Shin Corp SHIN.BK, which owns 41 percent of Shin Sat, to Singapore's Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] in January 2006.

On Tuesday, Thaicom shares closed unchanged at 9.80 baht, while the main Thai index .SETI dropped 0.35 percent. ($1=32.25 Baht) (Reporting by Arada Therdthammakun; Editing by Sue Thomas)