Thoresen Thai Agencies : TRIS Upgrades TTA Rating to BBB+/Stable Reflecting Its Financial Strength

Bangkok, Thailand, September 8, 2022 - Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited or TTA is pleased to announce that TRIS Rating upgrades the company rating on Thoresen Thai Agencies PLC (TTA) and its outstanding senior unsecured debentures from "BBB" to "BBB+" with a "stable" outlook, reflecting TTA's strengthened balance sheet supported by strong cash flow from operations.

TRIS Rating expects TTA's Shipping segment to continue delivering sound operating performance over coming quarters, benefited from favorable supply and demand dynamics and freight rates that remain satisfactory, and its Offshore Service segment to turnaround with a strong orderbook and growing scale of operations.

According to TRIS Rating, TTA benefited from the exceptionally high freight rate in 2021 through the first half of 2022. The demand and supply conditions will continue to drive TTA's satisfactory shipping business performance over coming quarters. Meanwhile, TTA's offshore service segment, operated under Mermaid Maritime PLC (MML), showed material improvement in the first half of 2022 with its first positive EBITDA since 2018 after expanding its range of services and geographic coverage. The larger scale of operations allows it to better utilize its resources and recover some overhead costs.

Mr. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, TTA President and Chief Executive Officer said: "The upgrade of TRIS Rating highlights our strong balance sheet with sufficient liquidity and good operating performance of our core businesses, especially Shipping and Offshore Services segments. TTA always seeks the best opportunities to invest in diversified businesses in order to create stable and sustainable growth and continually generate good returns for our stakeholders."

As a holding company with significant amount of cash on hand, TTA always seeks investment opportunities in new businesses. TTA has also invested in other less cyclical businesses, including agrochemicals, food & beverage (F&B), water management, property, airline, and logistics. The agrochemical business delivers steady positive operating cash flow, and the F&B segment is growing.

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