Berlian Laju Tanker's profits decline by 5 percent

JAKARTA (JP): PT Berlian Laju Tanker, a publicly-listed shipping company, yesterday said that its net profits declined by 5 percent last year to Rp 9.6 billion (US$4 million) despite an increase of 9 percent in its revenues.

"The profit decline was due to some vessel maintenance expenses payable in 1995, an increase in costs of bank loans and a weaker economic situation at the end of the year," Berlian's president, Hadi Surya, said.

The company's annual report shows that the company's net revenues rose from Rp 57 billion in 1994 to Rp 63 billion last year.

In an annual general meeting here yesterday, the company's shareholders approved the distribution of dividends of Rp 100 per share, totaling Rp 5.8 billion or 61 percent of the company's net profits.

Hadi said the company saw a stronger performance in the first quarter of this year with one new ship entering service in early February.

The company currently has a fleet of 17 vessels throughout Asia, of which three are clean petroleum products (CPP) tankers, 11 chemical tankers, one edible oil tanker, one liquefied petroleum (LPG) tanker and one crude/black oil tanker.

Hadi said that Berlian's subsidiaries -- Indigo Pacific Corporation and Diamond Pacific International Corporation -- have ordered two new chemical tankers from a Japanese shipyard.

The construction of the first of the two tankers, with a 5,600 dead weight ton (DWT) capacity, is scheduled for completion in December and the second one with a capacity of 3,200 DWT in April 1997.

Berlian divides its operational areas into four different regions: the domestic region, the Far East region, the South East Asian region and a combination of the Far East and the South East regions. (alo)