Fiskaragung's profit increases by 310%

Fiskaragung's profit increases by 310%

JAKARTA (JP): PT Fiskaragung Perkasa, a newly-listed salt
producer, announced yesterday a Rp 49 billion (US$20 million) net
profit for the first nine months of this year, a 310 percent
increase over the same period last year.

"Based on the nine-month profit figure, we expect to surpass
our 1996 profit projection of Rp 70 billion by at least 10
percent," Fisakaragung's finance director Ernas Krisna Mulya said
yesterday.

Ernas said profit was up because the average price of the
company's iodized salt had risen from Rp 739 a kilo in the
January-September period last year to Rp 1,348 a kilo in the same
period this year.

He said the company's net sales had risen to Rp 168 billion in
the first nine months of this year from Rp 92 billion in the
corresponding period of last year.

The average price of iodized salt has increased steadily this
year from Rp 1,327 a kilo in the first quarter to Rp 1,352 in the
second quarter and to Rp 1,364 in the third quarter.

The company says the price of its raw materials have
stabilized in the last six months at Rp 112 a kilo, compared to
Rp 110 a kilo in the first quarter of this year, and around Rp 70
in the fourth quarter of last year.

Ernas said the company sold a record 15,365 tons of salt in
October. The company sold 43,490 tons in the third quarter this
year and 42,940 tons in the second quarter.

Ernas said better margins also helped push up profits. He said
operating margins had improved when the firm acquired a
distributor, PT Fiskarindo Niaga Abadi, early this year.

The company has just opened a new production line with a
production capacity of 172,00 tons a year.

"Therefore, our production capacity stands at 345,000 tons per
annum. We also expect the new line's production will give a two-
month sales contribution to our 1996 total sales," Ernas added.

Fiskaragung, based in Gresik, East Java, is the country's
largest producer of iodized salt. State-owned PN Garam, its main
rival, has a production capacity of around 30,000 tons a year.
(alo)