Tambang Timah's profit decreases

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Tambang Timah has announced a 10.26 percent drop in net profit to Rp 100.6 billion (US$29.58 million), or Rp 200 per share, to September this year from Rp 112.1 billion in the same period last year.

The company's statement said its operating profit to the end of the third quarter this year fell 12.03 percent to Rp 110.4 billion from Rp 125.5 billion year to year.

The state-owned tin mining company attributed this year's lower revenue to weak tin prices in the local and world markets.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price hit the lowest level in 29 months at $5,315 a ton in August, it said.

The average LME cash settlement price in the third quarter was $5,456 compared to a $6,157 average in the same period last year.

Timah said the average tin price it received in the third quarter this year was $5,506 per ton, the average tin price received in the first nine months was $5,727 per ton, a 9.15 percent drop compared to $6,304 a ton in 1996.

The company's sales, however, rose 5.55 percent in the Jan. to Sept. period to Rp 460 billion from Rp 435.8 billion, it said.

The company said it had revised its sales target to approximately 44,300 tons to meet only committed sales to end- user customers.

Tin-in-concentrate production for the first nine months was 32,712 tons, up from 30,825 tons in the first nine months last year, the company said.

In the same period, metal production rose only 3.36 percent to 30,763 tons from 29,762 tons year to year.

The company said disruptions to the transportation of tin-in- concentrate caused by the haze from severe forest fires contributed to the low metal production growth.

Tambang Timah is 90 percent owned by the government and 10 percent by the public. (das)