Bloomberg, Jakarta

Indonesia's state utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), said 2002 sales rose 25 percent from a year earlier after the company raised electricity rates.

Sales rose to Rp 44.18 trillion (US$5.3 billion) from Rp35.30 trillion in 2001, Parno Isworo, the company's finance director, told reporters at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

PLN expects to announce 2002 earnings at the end of August, Isworo said.

The company had 31 million customers as of the end of 2002, compared with 29.8 million at the end of 2001, he said.

PLN increased power rates by an average 16 percent last year, compared with a 20 percent increase in 2001, as Indonesia cut energy subsidies as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).