Inco nets US$4.1m profit

Inco nets US$4.1m profit

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed tin mining company PT Inco
announced on Wednesday an unaudited net profit of US$4.1 million
for the second quarter of the year, a 25.4 percent decrease from
$5.5 million in the second quarter of last year.

"Our results and cash generation continued to improve in this
quarter, compared with the previous quarter. As a result of an
increase in nickel prices, Inco has begun making a profit after
incurring losses for two consecutive quarters," company president
and chief executive officer Rumengan Musu said in a statement.

Inco made a loss of $2.1 million in the first quarter of the
year.

The company said the price for its nickel in matte averaged
$4,122 per ton ($1.87 per pound) in the second quarter of the
year, up from $3,401 per ton ($1.54 per pound) in the first
quarter of the year.

The company produced 10,770 tons (23.5 million pounds) of
nickel in matte in the second quarter of the year, slightly up
from 10,440 tons (23 million pounds) in the first quarter of the
year, the statement said.

The statement said the company was about to complete its
expansion project which would raise the company's annual capacity
by 50 percent to 68,000 tons (150 million pounds). (jsk)