The nickel mining company, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the ticker code INCO, booked a US$122.93 million in profit in the third quarter, up 60.4 percent yoy, according to its latest financial report.

However, the company saw its cost of revenue rise 6.32 percent yoy to $516.78 million in the same period, mainly due to rising costs of fuel, lubricants and coal.

Vale president director Febriany Eddy said in a statement issued on Thursday that the company’s cost of revenue per ton of nickel matte sold in the third quarter increased by 8 percent from the previous quarter, driven primarily by a higher coal price.

Read also: Nickel giant Vale Indonesia’s profits grow despite pandemic

Vale chief financial officer Bernardus Irmanto said the company would aim to optimize production in the fourth quarter, even though the rebuilding of Furnace 4, which was slated to begin in November, would affect production.

“We will control production costs and efficiency to keep the company’s financial performance positive,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday, adding that he hoped nickel prices would remain high until the end of the year.

The company recorded 48,373 tons of nickel matte production in the third quarter, down 13 percent yoy, but up 20.46 percent from the previous quarter.

Nickel prices have been rising this year because of a combination of high demand, as reopening economies seek the metal, which is mainly used to produce stainless steel, and amid limited supply as nickel miners, especially in Indonesia, have yet to return to full operational capacity.

Indonesia’s nickel benchmark price (HMA) hit $19,499 per dry metric ton (dmt) in October, the highest level since October 2017, when the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry launched the HMA.

Read also: High nickel prices buoy mining companies’ fundamentals

Capital analyst Teguh Hidayat told the Post that high commodity prices had significantly boosted profits at mining companies, including Vale Indonesia and state-owned mining holding company Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID), in the third quarter.

MIND ID on Thursday reported Rp 9.8 trillion ($691 million) in consolidated profit in the third quarter, recovering from a net loss of Rp 1.4 trillion in the same period last year.

The company’s revenue reached Rp 63.8 trillion, up 35 percent yoy, with coal, gold and tin as the “three biggest” revenue contributors, according to a statement released on Thursday.

MIND ID, run by aluminum maker PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, owns majority stakes in coal mining firm PT Bukit Asam, gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia and diversified miner Antam, as well as a minority stake in Vale Indonesia.

“We expect [Vale Indonesia’s] strong [performance] to continue in the fourth quarter,” RHB Sekuritas analyst Andrey Wijaya said in a text message on Friday.

INCO shares rose by 1.25 percent to Rp 4,850 on Friday but are down 11.82 percent since the start of the year.