ublicly-listed state coal miner Bukit Asam booked a net profit of Rp 3.1 trillion (US$220.3 million) in the January-September period of this year, a 21.8 percent decrease from the same period last year, although there was a sales increase due to a decline in coal prices and rising costs.
Bukit Asam, a subsidiary of state-owned mining holding company Inalum (rebranded MIND.ID), booked a slim 1.36 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase in revenue to Rp16.3 trillion in the nine-month period that ends September this year from a year ago that was challenged by a 12.6 percent increase in costs to Rp10.55 trillion, according to the company’s latest financial statement.
The coal miner’s president director, Arviyan Arifin, told reporters in Jakarta on Monday that revenue growth was slim, even though sales volume rose 10.7 percent yoy to 20.6 million tons, because domestic coal prices fell 7.8 percent yoy in the January-September period.
“The numbers are, to be frank, below our performance in 2018 but it is due to declining coal prices, which is beyond our control. And compared to other companies, I think we still survived with pretty good numbers,” he said.
Bukit Asam added in a statement that it aimed to sell 28.4 million tons of coal by year-end, whereby the company had reached 72.5 percent of the target until September.
Arviyan said the company would reach this year’s target by focusing on increasing coal exports to non-traditional Asia-Pacific markets, such as, among others, Australia, Bangladesh and Japan and Vietnam.
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