State gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (PGN) expect to extend currency losses this year albeit lower than that of last year.
“This year’s total foreign exchange losses will be less than last year’s Rp 2.5 trillion [US$245 million],” PGN Corporate Secretay Wahid Sutopo told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.
He did not elaborate the exact figure of this year’s projected losses.
The currency loss last year forced the company’s net profit to plunge by 45.5 percent to Rp 633.8 billion from Rp 1.16 trillion booked in 2007. The losses occurred amid a robust revenue growth, posting a 45 percent increase to Rp 12.7 trillion, up from Rp 8.8 trillion in 2007.
In this year’s first quarter the company booked a total net profit of Rp 1.2 trillion, a 114 percent increase compared to the same period last year, on the back of increased sales.
To counter the anticipated losses, the company has appealed to the government to allow it to draft its annual report for this fiscal year based on the US dollar.
“We’re still waiting for the government’s decision, while we conduct a study on the possibility [of losses],” Wahid said.
Meanwhile, PGN is still waiting for a formal approval from the government to convert its debts to the government into equity.
PGN owes Rp 28 billion to the government, after converting Rp 99 billion of debt to the government into 3 percent of shares in April.
Previously, the office of the state minister of state enterprises is expecting PGN to convert its remaining debt to government equity.
Secretary to the State Minister for State Enterprises Muhammad Said Didu said if PGN converted soon, the government profit more.
The government, through the Finance Ministry, currently controls 56.46 percent of shares in the company, while the public holds the rest.
PGN operates more than 2,100 kilometers of gas pipelines and several distribution outlets with a capacity of 1,005 MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day) of gas.
It allocated US$250 million for capital expenditure this year to build pipes in West Java as well as for carryover payments for the South Sumatra-West Java pipeline and maintenance work. (naf)
