Pelindo III sees lower 2003 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.