Antam profit up 20% on higher prices

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Publicly listed gold and nickel miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) said on Tuesday that its unaudited net profit for 2003 had increased by 20 percent on the back of higher commodity prices.

The company, which is 65 percent owned by the government, said net income rose to Rp 242.9 billion (US$28.57 million) last year from Rp 202.02 billion in the previous year.

It added that sales of gold, silver and other minerals increased by 25 percent to Rp 2.14 trillion from Rp 1.71 trillion.

The price of nickel last year jumped by an average of 37 percent, while the price of gold rose by nearly 20 percent amid signs of global economic recovery and strong demand in the fast growing economy of China.

According to Bloomberg, the price of nickel, a metal used to make stainless steel products, may average at $15,500 per metric ton this year, a 61 percent increase from $9,637 a ton last year.

Antam's gold output last year reached 4,176 kilograms, higher than the 3,813 produced in 2002.

The average price of saprolite nickel ore increased by 30 percent in 2003, while the price of limonite nickel ore jumped by 82 percent, the company said.

The company sells about 85 percent of its output overseas.

Stainless steel producers ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH from Germany, AvestaPolarit of Finland, and Arcelor SA of Belgium are the company's biggest customers by value.

But the company also said that higher labor costs and fuel prices had put pressure on revenue.

Net income was reduced by the higher costs, it said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.