Apexindo books first-quarter losses of Rp 4.6 billion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Publicly listed oil drilling company PT Apexindo recorded an unaudited Rp 4.6 billion (US$484,210) in net losses in the first quarter of the year, as the rupiah weakened against the dollar.

In a statement made public on Tuesday, the company, which is a subsidiary of the country's biggest publicly traded oil producer PT Medco Energi Internasional, reversed the Rp 20.3 billion profit booked in the corresponding period last year.

"The net loss was caused by the weakening of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar," it said in the statement, released after its annual shareholders meeting.

The rupiah traded at Rp 9,480 a dollar on average in the first three months of 2005, as compared to Rp 9,290 a dollar at the end of 2004.

However, foreign exchange rate effects had been brought under control as the company issued Rp 750 billion in bonds in April, the statement added.

The five-year bonds consist of Rp 510 billion in conventional bonds with a yield of 12.5 percent annually, and Rp 240 billion in sharia bonds, which follow Islamic guidelines for profit sharing.

In the first quarter of the year, Apexindo recorded a 1.2 percent increase in revenue to Rp 237.8 billion from Rp 234.9 billion in the same period the previous year.

The company expects better performance in the following three months as onshore Rig 10 came into operation in May. Apexindo is currently developing three other onshore rigs for tenders, which are expected to be completed by the middle of the year.

The annual shareholders meeting also approved the disbursement of dividends derived from 2004's business operation of Rp 10 per share.