[Kabar-indonesia] 17 oil/gas/mining reports: Grasberg; Power Projects; Rio Tinto; Pertamina; Tuban
JoyoNews at aol.com
JoyoNews at aol.com
Thu Aug 3 15:49:28 MDT 2006
Note: also see the previously sent: RI July Oil Production
Falls to 35-Yr Low [+Upping Local Stake; Apexindo; Tuban]
17 oil/gas/mining Reports:
- Grasberg Copper Output To Fall Further
In 2H 06-Rio Tinto
- Indonesia govt says guarantee on power
projects excludes loss compensation
- Bloomberg: Rio Tinto Says First-Half
Profit Rises 75 Percent to Record
- PetroChina plans to continue drilling
Tuban oil well
- Indonesia Pertamina Issues Tender
To Buy Crude -Official
- update: Indonesia July crude output
falls to 35-year low-source
- Asia-Pacific Crude-Duri plunges on
soft demand
- Platts: Asia LSWR supply mounts
as Indonesia offers more cargoes
for Aug
- Platts: Indonesia's Pertamina cancels
92R gasoline tender on high offers
- Indonesia's Apexindo to pay interim
dividend of 15 rupiah per share
on Sept 13
- Thai PTT seeks more overseas
natural gas
- Indonesia's Bukit Asam signs 2-yr
contract with Kereta Api for
coal transport
- Malaysia's Tenaga sees power
talks end this year
- Malaysia Tenaga to decide on
coal price hike sought by
Indonesia partner
- JP: Earnings to stay at high level:
Inalum
- Indonesia's SMART considers
building biodiesel plant on
expected demand growth
- Petromindo Headlines, Thursday,
August 3, 2006
Grasberg Copper Output To Fall Further In 2H 06-Rio Tinto
LONDON, August 3 (Dow Jones) -- Mining results from the giant
copper-gold open pit Grasberg mine in Indonesia will decline further
after a disappointing first half of 2006 due to lower ore grades,
diversified miner Rio Tinto Plc (RIO.LN) said Thursday.
Contained copper output at Grasberg fell to 458 million pounds in the
first half of 2006, down from 638 million pounds in the same period
the year before.
Together with majority stake holder Freeport-McMoRan, the company was
looking to implement an optimization plan that was examining
opportunities to up mining results, including bringing forward
underground mining.
U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan owns 91% of the mine. It has lowered mine
production outlook for 2006 to 1.2 billion lb of copper, down from 1.3
billion lb but left expected gold output unchanged at 1.7 million troy
ounces.
The company said lower grade ore and abnormally high clay content at
its Grasberg mine were to blame for weaker results, with
weather-related delays further hurting operations in late June.
---------------------------------------
Indonesia govt says guarantee on power
projects excludes loss compensation
JAKARTA, August 3 (XFN-ASIA) - The government's guarantee on power
plant projects issued to support investor efforts to seek financing
does not involve compensation for any losses arising from collapsing
projects, officials said.
State electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) recently
announced the prequalification for some 10 coal-fired power plants.
The government issued a relevant guarantee in the form of a 'comfort
letter' to support the so-called 'power crash program' or accelerated
development of 10-megawatt new coal-fired power capacity.
'The comfort letter is meant to make it easier for investors to get
financing for the projects. It is just an information that the
government will never declare PLN bankrupt,' said Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry's director of electricity and energy usage J.
Purwono.
'So, it is to guarantee the contracts (with investors),' he told reporters.
He said the matter is still being discussed at the finance ministry
and will be granted to investors once they have signed contracts with
PLN.
PLN is in charge of power distribution, which is still heavily
subsidized by the government as power is being sold below commercial
price levels.
--------------------------------------
Rio Tinto Says First-Half Profit Rises 75 Percent to Record
by Tan Hwee Ann
and Madelene Pearson
in Melbourne
Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group, the world's second- largest miner by
market value, said first-half profit rose 75 percent to a record, driven by
higher copper and iron ore prices and sales to China.
Net income rose to $3.8 billion, or $2.809 a share, in the six months ended
June 30, from $2.2 billion, or $1.573 a year earlier, London-based Rio said
today in a statement. Tax gains boosted profit by $211 million, helping to beat
the $3.53 billion expected by 10 analysts surveyed.
Prices of raw materials reached all-time highs this year driven by demand
from China, generating record profits for mining companies. Rio Chairman Paul
Skinner said the outlook for the global economy and commodity markets is
positive.
``The drivers for their results were higher prices, and increased volumes,''
said Paul Xiradis, who helps manage $5.2 billion at Ausbil Dexia Ltd. in
Sydney. ``The commodity cycle will continue for some time.''
Shares of Rio Tinto rose A$1.49, or 2 percent, to A$76.15 at the 4:10 p.m.
Sydney close on the Australian Stock Exchange. They've risen 10 percent this
year. The company's shares traded in London fell 38 pence, or 1.4 percent, to
2,769 pence at 8:52 a.m. London time.
China Sales
Sales rose 23 percent to $10.6 billion, Rio said in the statement to the
exchange. Rio said it will pay a dividend of 40 U.S. cents a share, compared with
38.5 cents a year ago. The company had record capital spending in the half of
$1.75 billion.
Chief Executive Leigh Clifford, 58, is spending $6 billion this year and next
to build and expand mines that produce coal, copper and iron ore, as China
buys more raw materials to build cars, plants and homes. Clifford said today in
an interview the company expected a ``strong second half.''
China accounted for 14 percent of Rio's first-half sales compared with 13
percent a year ago, the company said today. Most of Rio's iron ore operations,
which generate a quarter of the company's profits, are located in Australia.
Prices of copper for delivery in three months touched a record $8,800 in May
on the London Metal Exchange, as strikes and mining problems disrupted
production even as demand continues to rise. Benchmark global iron ore prices jumped
19 percent this April as demand soared from Chinese steelmakers.
``Although we have seen increased volatility in financial markets, underlying
demand for our products remains strong, and we remain positive about the
outlook for the global economy and our markets,'' Rio's Skinner said in the
statement.
Copper Profits
Rio, which owns stakes in the world's two largest copper mines in Chile and
Indonesia, garnered $2 billion of profit in the first half from the metal,
making it the largest earnings contributor. Iron ore added $900 million for the
world's second- biggest exporter of the steelmaking component, making it the
company's next biggest earnings contributor.
Copper and iron ore accounted for 78 percent of Rio's profit. Higher
commodity prices increased earnings by $1.8 billion, offsetting a cost increase of
$513 million, Rio said.
``The business they're in is very strong, and commodities prices remain much
higher than people expect,'' Tim Barker at BT Financial Group, which manages
and advise on the equivalent of $54 billion including resources stocks, said
before the earnings. ``You'll continue to see profit upgrades.''
The company will consider more capital returns when it posts full-year
results, Skinner told a conference call with reporters. Rio in February said it will
return $4 billion to shareholders through buybacks and a special dividend.
Most of the company's expansion projects remain on budget and on schedule,
Clifford told the conference. The only project that's ``slightly behind
schedule,'' and ``slightly over budget,'' is the expansion of its Tom Price iron ore
mine in Western Australia, he said.
The company also said in a slide presentation that it was evaluating the
further expansion of its Comalco alumina refinery in Australia.
-- With reporting by John Dawson in London. Editor: Gosman (amh)
----------------------------------------
update: PetroChina plans to continue drilling Tuban oil well
JAKARTA, August 3 (Reuters) - China's largest oil firm, PetroChina Co.
Ltd., plans to continue drilling at an oil well in Indonesia's East
Java province despite a blow-out at the well last week, a company
official said on Thursday.
On July 29, police and officials said there was an explosion at the
oil well in Tuban block, that triggered an evacuation and left more
than 200 people treated for breathing problems.
The well, located in the Bojonegoro area, is operated by state oil
company Pertamina and PetroChina and officials had said the fire was
put out with no impact on production.
"We certainly will have more development drilling (in Tuban block) to
increase production," Yin Xiaohua, PetroChina spokesman, told
reporters.
"We will also continue to drill at the well which experienced a gas
kick last week at a target depth of 6,959 feet, as oil reserves are
there. There was actually no explosion. What happened was a gas flare
was lighted and burnt as a normal drilling procedure."
He said nobody was evacuated and there was no damage to the well.
He said production from the Tuban block was about 11,500 barrels per
day (bpd) and would be increased to approximately 15,000 bpd this
year.
PetroChina has a 25 percent stake in the onshore Tuban block, Medco
Energi International 25 percent and Indonesia's state oil firm
Pertamina 50 percent.
Indonesia, Asia-Pacific's only OPEC member, has pushed oil contractors
to increase production as output continues to fall as the country has
failed to tap new oilfields fast enough.
Indonesia's crude oil output fell to 887,000 bpd in July -- a 35-year
low -- and down from 900,000 bpd in June, hit by production problems
in several oil fields and maintenance.
Indonesia was a net importer of crude oil in May and June because of
falling production.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Indonesia Pertamina Issues Tender To Buy Crude -Official
SINGAPORE, August 3 (Dow Jones)--Indonesia's state-owned Petamina
(PTM.YY) has issued a tender to buy crude oil for October arrival, a
company official said.
The tender will close Aug. 9 and offers will stay valid until Aug. 11.
[ 08-03-06 0325ET ]
The company, which used to buy more than 4 million barrels of sweet
crude in monthly tenders, didn't buy any crude oil in tenders for June
and July, citing ample supply from domestic production.
"We need more crude. For October, we feel there's not enough
availability from domestic supply," the official said.
The company will decide how much crude oil it will buy in this month's
tender, one day before the tender closes, he said.
Before halting its crude oil purchases in tenders over the past two
months, the company had already been reducing the volume of its
purchases to keep tabs on its rising import costs.
----------------------------------------------------------------
update: Indonesia July crude output falls to 35-year low-source
JAKARTA, August 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia's crude oil output fell to
887,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July -- a 35-year low -- and down
from 900,000 bpd in June, hit by production problems in several oil
fields and maintenance, an industry source said on Wednesday.
"Indonesia could not avoid another fall in output in July because of
some problems in several oil reservoirs and some also needed
maintenance," the source said.
Indonesia's condensate output was slightly higher at 131,000 bpd in
July, compared with 130,000 bpd in June.
Indonesia was a net importer of crude oil in June and May this year
after production from Asia-Pacific's only OPEC member continued to
fall, an energy ministry official had said.
The industry source said Indonesian oil production is expected to
increase in August, when problems at the production facilities in
several oil fields are resolved.
Indonesia has struggled to maintain production as the country has
failed to tap new oilfields fast enough.
Indonesia imports crude for its refineries but normally exports
slightly more, effectively trading its domestic production for crude
more suitable to its plants.
The country has nine refineries with a combined capacity of around 1
million barrels per day, but they supply only about 70 percent of
domestic oil products consumption. The rest is imported.
Following are monthly Indonesia crude and condensate output figures,
with volumes in barrels per day:
Crude Condensate Total
July 887,000 131,000 1,018,000
June 900,000 130,000 1,030,000
May 918,000 120,000 1,038,000
April 920,000 120,000 1,040,000
March 929,100 122,800 1,051,900
February 918,500 130,000 1,048,500
January 916,000 124,000 1,040,000
----------------------------------------------------------------
Asia-Pacific Crude-Duri plunges on soft demand
SINGAPORE, August 2 (Reuters) - Asian medium-heavy sweet crude slumped
on Wednesday, with Indonesian Duri plunging to a deep discount amid
weak Japanese utility demand and healthy exports of alternative power
plant feedstock, traders said.
A Japanese trader sold 200,000 barrels of Duri for August and
early-September loading to a Taiwan refiner at $2.00-$2.50 a barrel
below the Indonesia Crude Price (ICP), down from a notional assessment
at minus 60 cents earlier this week.
Duri and other medium and heavy sweet crude, used as feedstock in
thermal plants, have been pressured by the absence of demand from
major buyer Japan, where rainy weather conditions have softened
electricity demand this summer.
Further pressure has come from a large allocated of 2.3 million
barrels of power-plant alternative low-sulphur waxy residue for August
loading, up 24 percent from July volume.
Heavy sweet Duri was also unattractive to refiners, with fuel oil
margin slumped to below $15 a barrel discount.
In the light sweet crude market, Japanese trader Mitsui was offering a
600,000-barrel September-loading Tapis cargo at $1.40 a barrel, while
Petronas was likely to bring its 300,000-barrel September cargo into
their system, market sources said.
Most September regional condensate cargoes have sold out, but one
Laminaria and one Malampaya cargoes were still available.
Buyers were targeting $1.00 a barrel discount to APPI Tapis quotes for
the September Laminaria cargo, lower than the previous assessments of
a 50-cent discount as the naphtha market continued to weak under the
weight of haevy Indian exports.
Term lifters of Bach Ho crude raised their bids for October-March
loading cargoes from their initial level of $3.60-$4.00 a barrel
premium to Minas quotes after Petechim made an initial offer at a high
level of $6.80.
Bids were still thought below the current OSP of plus-$4.38.
---------------------------------------------------------
Platts Commodity News
August 3. 2006
Asia LSWR supply mounts as Indonesia offers more cargoes for Aug
An already dismal Asian low-sulfur waxy residue market is due for more
weakness in the near term, with Indonesia's Pertamina said to be
offering up to three extra cargoes of LSWR for export in August,
industry sources said Thursday.
In late July, Pertamina allocated 2.25 million barrels of LSWR for
export in August, which is 21.6% more than the quantity allocated for
export in July.
In addition, the Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company has
offered two 200,000 barrel cargoes of straight-run LSWR for loading
from Dumai, and another 200,000 barrel cargo of straight-run LSWR for
loading from Sungei Pakning.
Spot buying came to a near standstill recently as Japan's power
utilities limited new purchases of LSWR or low-sulfur fuel oil due to
ample inventories.
The lack of available tank space led to delays in unloading of several
cargoes last week, and a few vessels are still waiting to be unloaded
in Japan, traders said.
Power utilities in Japan started stocking on LSWR and low-sulfur fuel
oil with aggressive buying in May to prepare for the traditional
July-September high demand season when domestic electricity
consumption peaks.
Temperatures have, however, remained largely tepid in Japan in recent
weeks. Meanwhile, power generation from alternative fuels like
liquefied natural gas and nuclear has been rising steadily, leading to
a build-up in LSWR stocks.
Dismal demand in Asia has prompted traders to look for outlets outside
of the region, even when margins are razor thin.
American trading house Westport was seen earlier this week putting two
vessels totaling 140,000 mt on subject to ship LSWR from Dumai
mid-August to the US Gulf coast, although traders expect only one
vessel to be fixed.
Some traders were skeptical that the economics justify the arbitrage
because of the high freight rates. They add that prices won't changed
much unless more cargoes head West.
"But at least some of the barrels are being moved out of the region,"
one trader said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Platts Commodity News
August 3, 2006
Indonesia's Pertamina cancels 92R gasoline tender on high offers
Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina has canceled a tender to buy a
prompt 200,000 barrel cargo of 92 RON unleaded gasoline as it
considered price offers submitted into the tender as too high, trading
sources said late Thursday.
The tender, which closed earlier Thursday, was seeking the cargo for
August 9-11 delivery to Balikpapan. Price offers received were
probably higher than $5/barrel over Mean of Platts Singapore 92 RON
unleaded gasoline assessments, CFR basis.
Pertamina had earlier already fixed 900,000 barrels of 92 RON gasoline
and 3 million barrels 88 RON gasoline imports for August--higher than
estimated deliveries of 3.4 million barrels of 92 and 88 RON this
month.
----------------------------------------------------------
Indonesia's Apexindo to pay interim dividend of 15 rupiah per share on Sept 13
JAKARTA, August 3 (XFN-ASIA) - Rig operator PT Apexindo Pratama Duta's
board has decided to pay an interim dividend of 15 rupiah per share,
the company said.
The dividend is payable on Sept 13 to investors on record on Aug 30.
The company posted net profit of 191.48 bln rupiah for first half,
having made a loss 72.51 bln rupiah a year earlier.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Thai PTT seeks more overseas natural gas
BANGKOK, August 3 (Reuters) - PTT PCL , Thailand's biggest oil and gas
conglomerate, said on Thursday it planned to secure more natural gas
from Indonesia, the Middle East and Myanmar over the next few years to
meet domestic demand.
"PTT plans to increase daily natural gas supplies to seven billion
cubic feet. The investment will be over the next five to six years,"
company president Prasert Bunsumpun told reporters.
PTT pipes about three billion cubic feet of gas per day and would pipe
five billion after it finished building its third gas pipeline,
expected late this year, he said.
In the short term, it would supply natural gas from the northeastern
Phu Hom field, Unocal's concession field in the Gulf of Thailand, and
the Yadana gas field off the Myanmar coast, he said.
Natural gas from the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (JDA)
and the fields of its PTT Exploration subsidiary in Myanmar would be
used for the medium and long term, he said.
At 0816 GMT, PTT shares were up 0.83 percent at 244 baht, while the
main Thai stock index <.SETI> was up 1.32 percent.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Indonesia's Bukit Asam signs 2-yr contract with Kereta Api for coal transport
JAKARTA, August 3 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam has
signed a two-year contract with railway firm PT Perusahaan Kereta Api
Indonesia (KAI) for transport of a total 18.4 mln tons of coal, an
official said.
Last month, the two state firms agreed to raise coal transport tariff
to 230 rupiah per ton per kilometer, with retroactive effect from Jan
1, 2006.
'We have signed the contract in which we also agreed on bonus-penalty
clause,' Bukit Asam corporate secretary Milawarma told XFN-Asia.
Last year, Kereta Api carried 1.6 mln tons of coal from Bukit Asam's
mine in Tanjung Enim to a loading port in Kertapati in South Sumatra
at a rate of 183 rupiah/ton/km and 6.3 mln tons to Tarahan in the
nearby province of Lampung at 138 rupiah.
Under the new contract, Kereta Api will carry 1.9 mln tons of coals to
Kertapati and 6.9 mln tons to Tarahan this year; and 2.0 mln tons and
7.6 mln, respectively, next year.
The distance from Tanjung Enim to Kertapati is about 180 kms and that
from Tanjung Enim to Tarahan is 410 kms.
Coal from the Tarahan loading port is allocated both for exports and
for domestic use. Part of the coal goes to supply the 3,400-MW
Suralaya power plant, the country's largest coal-fired power plant in
Banten province, some 100 kms west of Jakarta.
Milawarma said Bukit Asam may keep the exports and local sales mix of
30:70 pct. The company has been exporting coal to Malaysia, the
Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Italy, and Spain.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysia's Tenaga sees power talks end this year
KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 (Reuters) - Malaysia's dominant power utility,
Tenaga Nasional , hopes talks with independent power producers on the
purchase of electricity will be finalised this year, its chief
executive said on Thursday.
Tenaga wants to renegotiate earlier contracts made with Malaysia's
private power producers as part of a plan to turn its finances around
by cutting spending on reserve electricity.
The talks were earlier earmarked for conclusion by August, but were
found to be more complicated than expected, Energy Minister Lim Keng
Yaik told reporters earlier this week.
"We will try to finish it before the end of the year," Che Khalib
Mohamad Noh told reporters.
He said negotiations were being led by the government through the
Energy Commission. "Whatever the outcome, it will obviously be good
for the customers as well as the utility and industry as a whole," he
added.
Malaysia produces more power than it needs, keeping a reserve margin
to prevent blackouts, but that leaves monopoly distributor Tenaga to
pay for all the surplus power, which has become an enormous financial
burden.
The reserve margin has ballooned to 40 percent because of new plants,
and the government has plans to cut it to 20 percent. Right now,
Tenaga bears up to 2.5 billion ringgit ($680 million) a year for the
reserve margin.
It also has to pay the producers capacity charges amounting to 4
billion ringgit, regardless of whether the capacity is being fully
used or not.
Che Khalib also dismissed a newspaper report that Tenaga was facing
potential losses of as much as 226.64 million ringgit from its
Indonesian coal mining operations. The Business Times, citing a report
by PricewaterhouseCoopers and an Indonesian legal firm, said the
potential losses were mainly due to leakages, partly caused by a poor
internal financial control environment.
It also said that coal was sold below its cost price.
"We look at the whole operations and we think that some things need to
be improved. Now we are in discussions with our partners in Indonesia
and hopefully we will be able to resolve this matter in the most
amicable way," Che Khalib said.
He was confident that Tenaga's 92.5 percent-owned TNB Coal
International Ltd unit would not post a loss this year.
"Why are you suggesting that there will be a loss? What we have to do
now is to protect our investment," he added.
Indonesian Robert Priantono Bonosusatya holds the remaining 7.5
percent stake in TNB Coal.
Che Khalib said Bonosusatya had asked for the selling price of coal to
Tenaga be revised as it had risen to $45 a tonne compared with $30 per
tonne when the supply agreement was signed.
"Coal prices went up dramatically over the last 12 months. There were
contracts signed prior to that, so we have to honour some of the
contracts. What they are asking us is to resolve this and review the
selling price," Che Khalib said, adding that Tenaga hoped to resolve
the issue within a month.
The Indonesian unit supplies about 20 percent of Tenaga's total coal
consumption.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysia Tenaga to decide on coal price hike sought by Indonesia partner
KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 (XFN-ASIA) - Tenaga Nasional Bhd hopes to make
a decision within a month on a request by its Indonesian unit's
partner for a hike in the price of coal supplied by the unit to
Tenaga, Bernama news agency reported, quoting the power utility's
president and chief executive officer Che Khalib Mohamad Noh.
Tenaga owns a 92.5 pct stake in Indonesia's TNB Coal International,
while partner Robert Priantono Bonosusatya holds the remainder.
Bonosusatya had asked for the selling price of coal to Tenaga to be
revised upwards, Che Khalib was quoted as telling reporters at a news
conference.
Coal cost had risen to 45 usd per metric tonne now compared with 30
usd per metric tonne when the supply agreement was signed, the
executive said.
He also said the company hopes to conclude talks on power purchase
agreements with independent power producers by the end of this year.
Separately, Che Khalib said that Tenaga will not incur losses from its
Indonesian operations this year, asserting that the operations are
still profitable.
He rejected reports suggesting that the company made an unauthorised
advance of about 8.5 bln rupiah to a senior official of the Indonesian
unit a few years ago.
The New Straits Times reported earlier today that Tenaga is facing
potential losses of 226.6 mln rgt from the Indonesian operations.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Jakarta Post
August 3, 2006
Earnings to stay at high level: Inalum
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
JAKARTA: PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum), an aluminum producer
based in North Sumatra said that the company's earnings this year
would remain at last year's level despite a slight increase in the
price of the raw materials.
"Although there is an increase in the price of the raw materials, the
rise will not affect earnings because the aluminum price is also
expected to remain high," the company said in a statement sent to The
Jakarta Post to correct the company's earnings report published in
this newspaper on July 31.
The company acknowledged that production was estimated to decline
slightly to 244,000 tons this year from 252,000 tons in 2005, but the
production level would still be above the company's installed
capacity.
Inalum's revenue rose significantly to US$120 million in 2005 from $90
million in 2004, partly due to the sharp increase in global aluminum
prices.
Inalum, a joint venture between the government with a 41 percent
stake, and Japan's Nippon Asahan Aluminium with a 59 percent stake,
produces aluminum ingots with a purity of between 99.70 percent and
99.92 percent. About 60 percent of the production is exported, with
the remaining 40 percent going to the local market.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Indonesia's SMART considers building biodiesel plant on expected demand growth
JAKARTA, August 3 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and
Technology (SMART), a subsidiary of diversified Sinar Mas Group, said
it is considering constructing a biodiesel plant in view of the
expected rise in demand for the product in coming years.
'Currently, our company is still studying the cost and benefits
offered by the biodiesel opportunities, which include entering
long-term supply arrangements or investing in the construction of a
new biodiesel plant,' Rafael B Concepcion Jr said in a statement to
XFN-Asia.
He gave no details on when the plan will be implemented.
A company executive who declined to be named said the management is
currently studying whether to enter long-term supply arrangements or
invest in a new biodiesel plant.
'The management has not yet made any decision on which option to take.
It is a medium- to long-term plan,' the executive said.
SMART is one of the largest integrated consumer palm-based products
companies in Indonesia. It also distributes, markets and exports
consumer palm-based products such as cooking oil, margarine and
shortening.
The company said in the statement that it currently owns plantations
of approximately 109,000 hectares spread across Sumatra and
Kalimantan. 'We have plans to expand our plantation by between 5,000 -
10,000 hectares this year,' it said.
In the first half of this year, the company booked net profit of
371.42 bln rupiah, up from 14.38 bln a year earlier, on sales of 2.36
trln rupiah, up from 2.08 trln.
The sales increase, approximately 13 pct, was largely driven by a 10
pct rise in sales volumes.
It said the annual sales volume of its branded cooking oil reaches
approximately 130,000 tons per annum.
'This year we expect to generate higher sales volume for this product,' it
said.
Citing a market research report undertaken by AC Nielsen, the company
said it currently holds a 25 pct market share in the Indonesia branded
cooking oil market.
The company added it expects to book sales of 4.7 trln rupiah for
full-year 2006, up from 4.66 trln last year. It gave no further
explanation.
As of end-June 2006, the company's outstanding debts amounted to 846
bln rupiah. 'We have plans to refinance our existing loan and obtain
working capital/project finance loans when facilities with competitive
terms are available,' the company added.
-----------------------------------------
Petromindo Headlines, August 3, 2006
Oil/Gas:
- Pertamina insists on developing own
LNG plant in C. Sulawesi
- PetroChina delays drilling works at
Sukowati-5 well
- Chinese firms may buy Apexindo stake
- Govt may up local stake in oil and
gas sector
- Indonesian crude production reaches
35-year bottom
Mining:
- ABK to ship 300,000 tons of coal in Aug
- Tenaga to resolve Indonesian coal ops
problems in a month
- Indonesia Power may directly appoint
coal supplier
- PT KEM reports progress on Kelian
gold mine sterilization program
- KPC in difficulty to pay its suppliers
Power:
- Indonesia Power may directly appoint coal supplier
------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
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