Pelindo III sees lower 2003 net profit

Pelindo III sees lower 2003 net profit

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned seaport operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III
(Pelindo III) has said that its net profit for 2003 may decline
by 14 percent, on lower trading activities and higher operational
costs.

Pelindo III president Bambang Darwoto said that the company's
net profit until the end of this year was projected to decline to
Rp 307 billion (US$36.1 million), from Rp 358 billion last year.

Revenue from operation is expected to drop by 40 percent to Rp
809 billion, from Rp 1.35 trillion last year.

"There will be a decline in our profit this year on lower
trading activities," he said during a hearing with the House of
Representatives Commission IX for finance on Monday.

However, Bambang refused to elaborate further on the causes of
the decline.

But based on the company's financial report submitted to the
House, as of September this year the company had spent Rp 361
billion on operational costs, with the largest spending of Rp 102
billion on "general" expenses.

On the other hand, the company's revenue from operations only
reached Rp 575 billion, with other (non-operations) income
reaching Rp 43 billion.

In the first nine months of this year, container volume at
ports managed by Pelindo III reached 1.64 million twenty-foot
equivalent units (TEUs). The company is hoping to reach their
modest target of 2.15 million TEUs before the end of this year.

The company did not provide any comparison figures.

Pelindo III -- with headquarters in Indonesia's second largest
city Surabaya -- operates 37 seaports, including in Central Java,
East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, South
Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, on the contrary, the company's peer PT Pelabuhan
Indonesia II (Pelindo II) has said that it would enjoy an 11
percent increase in net profit this year to Rp 426 billion, from
Rp 384 billion last year.

Pelindo II president Abdullah Syaifuddin said that as of
September this year the company had recorded a net profit of Rp
356 billion (US$41.8 million) and an operational income of Rp 987
billion.

The company estimated that its revenue from operations would
reach around Rp 1.31 trillion this year.

Syaifuddin said that the possible jump in net profit this year
was mostly attributable to the increase in container volume and
to efficiency in the company's operation.

"As of September, container volume recorded in our ports has
increased by 2 percent to 2.3 million TEUs," he said in the same
hearing with the Commission IX.

He expected that container volume managed by the company would
reach around 3 million TEUs at the end of this year.

Pelindo II, with headquarters in Jakarta, operates 12
seaports, including in Jakarta, West Java, Banten, West
Kalimantan, South Sumatra, West Sumatra and Jambi.

However, around 70 percent of Pelindo II profits are derived
from the operation of its subsidiary PT Jakarta International
Container Terminal, a joint-venture company with Hongkong-based
seaport operator Hutchison Port Holdings Group, and from the
operation of Tanjung Priok passenger and non-trading port.

Pelindo II is currently working on a Rp 6.5 trillion deep-sea
seaport project in Bojonegara, Banten. The port is projected to
have an installed capacity of at least 3 million TEUs.

Syaifuddin said that the company had spent around Rp 300
billion on clearing around 120 hectares -- out of the 1,200
hectares needed for the seaport.

He explained that the company had proposed to the government
to help fund 40 percent of the project, while the remaining 40
percent would be offered to foreign investors. The government
will open a tender process for new strategic investors in 2005.