Stark Corporation Plc has issued a statement to reassure its shareholders, bondholders and creditors, saying its operations are continuing as normal with a strong backlog of orders that could generate enough capital to service its financial liabilities.
Stark, a wire and cable manufacturer, said in a letter issued yesterday that acting chief executive Vonnarat Tangkaravakoon would shore up problems with the company and restore the confidence of all stakeholders.
Mr Vonnarat, Stark's largest shareholder and director of the SET-listed TOA Paint (Thailand), took the helm following the resignation of Stark's board of directors and subcommittees earlier this month.
The company failed to submit consolidated and separated financial statements for 2022 by the end of the reporting period on April 21.
"We have to apologise for the delay in submitting our 2022 financial results," the letter noted.
"We have appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers ABAS to conduct a special audit and speed up the completion of our operating results within either May or June, as we are obliged to."
The company's operations in Thailand and Vietnam have continued as normal, said the letter.
"We want to stress that we have no intention of putting those assets on sale," the letter noted.
"We have received continued support from financial institutions as well as trading partners, both domestic and international companies, to do business together. We have confirmed backlog orders of more than 11 billion baht for manufacturing and exports."
Analysts recently raised concerns about Stark's ability to repay its banking debts of more than 8 billion baht.
In the first nine months of last year, Stark had total bank loans of 8.61 billion baht, with unsecured loans accounting for 1.2 billion baht.
Kasikornbank reportedly extended 5 billion baht worth of loans to Stark, with an additional 2-3 billion baht from Siam Commercial Bank.
"If we continue to receive support from bondholders and all stakeholders, we are confident we can continue operations and be able to pay loan interest to creditors in a timely manner," the company said.
STARK shares have been suspended from trade on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since March 1. The company is scheduled to have a meeting with its bondholders today.
