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Bukit Asam's profit skyrockets on higher coal price, greater efficiency
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This coal-fired power plant is PLTU Bukit Asam in Muara Enim, South Sumatra. (Antara/ Zabur Karuru)
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tate-owned coal mining company PT Bukit Asam booked a 142 percent annual increase in net profit to Rp 1.72 trillion (US$129 million) in the first half of this year, following a hike in output and a drop in the stripping ratio.
In the first six months, Bukit Asam mined 9.43 million tons of coal, up 23.2 percent year-on-year, and sold 11.36 million tons of coal, up 13.3 percent. As a result, it recorded a 33 percent annual increase in revenue to Rp 8.9 trillion.
At the same time, the company was able to lower its stripping ratio – the proportion of waste material that must be removed to extract coal – to 3.93, down from the previous ratio of 5.47.
“In addition to a hike in global coal prices, we have also undertaken various internal efficiency measures, resulting in a lower stripping ratio and more cost-efficient mining,” Bukit Asam president director Arviyan Arifin said in Jakarta on Friday.
“We hope to maintain this upward trend in the second half.”
The price of Asian benchmark Newcastle thermal coal averaged $86.6 per ton in the first half of 2017, up 58 percent from the corresponding period of last year.
In total, Bukit Asam aims to produce 21.92 million tons of coal and sell 23.17 million tons this year. (bbn)
