Pertamina books Rp 3.74t net profit

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina booked a net profit of Rp 3.74 trillion (about US$328.21 million) in the nine-month 2000 fiscal year that ended on Dec. 31. This compared to the Rp 4.98 trillion profit earned in the 12-month 1999 fiscal year.

Pertamina said in a statement on Tuesday that gross profit for fiscal 2000 stood at Rp 9.03 trillion, of which Rp 5.29 trillion was paid to the government in taxes.

The company said it had received an unqualified opinion from the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) for its 2000 financial statement.

The state company records its financial performance based on the fiscal year due to its vital role in financing the state budget.

The 2000 fiscal year ran from April 1 to Dec. 31, compared with previous fiscal years which ran for 12 months from April 1 to March 31. Starting this year, the government has brought the fiscal year into line with the calender year.

During the period, the statement said, Pertamina spent some Rp 70.3 trillion on the importation of crude oil, and notched up an additional Rp 6.7 trillion in costs for distributing fuel nationwide.

Revenue from fuel sales in the local market, however, was only Rp 21.4 trillion, which forced the government to pay out Rp 55.6 trillion in fuel subsidies.

Pertamina, which is one of the country's biggest state companies, controls the country's oil and gas sector under the law as it now stands.

It is responsible for the nationwide distribution of fuel, selling it at prices set by the government.

In return for this service, the government covers distribution and production costs and pays Pertamina certain fees.

Pertamina's other revenue comes from its oil and gas fields, which it operates under contracts with the government.

It also receives so-called "management fees" from the government for supervising the country's oil and gas contractors.

Under the existing law, Pertamina regulates and supervises all oil and gas contractors.

Pertamina also has six subsidiaries which are not directly involved in the oil and gas business. These companies earned a total of Rp 143.8 billion in the last fiscal year.

In the fiscal year before that, the six subsidiaries raked in total revenues of Rp 77.1 billion.

The subsidiaries are PT Elnusa (electronics), PT Patra Jasa (hotels and restaurants), PT Pelita Air Services (air transportation), PT Patra Dok Dumai (docking services), PT Tugu Pratama (oil and gas insurance), and PT Pertamina Tongkang (small vessels provider).

The government imposes a hefty 60 percent corporation tax on Pertamina -- which is almost twice as much the tax imposed on other firms -- to ensure that most of its earnings return to the state. (bkm)