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ublicly listed state-run PT Timah saw its profits nosedive during the first half of this year despite rising revenues and higher sales volumes.

According to the company on Monday, Timah pocketed net profits of only Rp 11.28 billion (US$801,962) during the
January-June period, which plunged by 96.62 percent from Rp 334.36 billion in the same period last year.

The company also announced on Monday that its total revenue rose 17 percent to Rp 3.22 trillion in the first half from Rp 2.75 trillion booked in the same period last year, but its costs of goods sold rose by 40.48 percent from Rp 2.10 trillion to Rp 2.95 trillion.

Timah sold 14,096 metric tons of tin during the period, a 45.88 percent rise compared to 9,633 metric tons recorded in the same period last year. However, the world tin price declined by 23.19 percent this year to an average of $17,076 per metric tons.

Timah corporate secretary Agung Nugroho said his firm'€™s revenue growth was slowing because of the fall in prices.

He admitted that the weakening rupiah, that was supposed to widen the profit margin of Timah'€™s tin exports, did not in fact boost the company'€™s revenues due to the plunge in the tin price.

Agung expressed hope that newly approved regulations by the trade minister would lead to tighter export requirements thus maintaining a stable tin price.

In May, the Trade Ministry issued a revised regulation for the tin trade amid concerns over illegal mining activities and an ongoing decline in commodity prices. The new ruling would only allow the export of three types of tin, namely refined tin ingots, tin solders and other types of tin products, in contrast to the previous export allowance for four types of tin comprising refined tin ingots, refined tin non-ingots, tin solders and non-solder tin alloys.

The regulation regarding the trade of the three types of tin will be effective from Aug. 1.

Under the revised regulations, tin can be exported only if producers or miners have paid the appropriate royalty and presented the required documents such as working plans and budgets as well as maintained a '€œclean and clear'€ status, all of which have to be verified by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry'€™s directorate general for minerals and coal.

The requirements for the '€œclean and clear'€ status will be effective from Nov. 1.

Meanwhile, to maintain the company'€™s growth, Timah has diversified its range of businesses to include non-tin businesses such as hospital and property business, said Agung.

Timah president director Sukrisno said recently that the country'€™s biggest tin miner was keen to increase its non-mining income, which currently accounted for only around 5 percent of the company'€™s revenues, to 50 percent by 2019.

Currently, Timah is set to develop an idle asset '€” a 176-hectare site located in Bekasi, West Java '€” into a mixed-use complex, in partnership with state-run builders Wijaya Karya and Adhi Karya. The project, as previously reported, will cost around Rp 1 trillion.

Agung said that, despite the gloomy outlook of the mining industry, his firm intended to reach the same growth target as last year.

'€œHowever, being able to obtain profits in this situation can be considered as a sign of our positive business performance,'€ he said. (prm)