Timah attributes profits to rise in other income
JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed tin company PT Timah announced on Tuesday its consolidated net income reached Rp 331.6 billion ($35 million) in 2000, a 4.25 percent increase from Rp 318 billion the previous year despite a drop in the company's gross profit.
The company attributed the rise on the increase in total other income in January to December last year to Rp 109.1 billion as compared to negative Rp 25.4 billion the previous year.
The company said that gross profit decreased 16.8 percent to Rp 624.3 billion last year from Rp 751 billion in 1999, due to the increased cost of goods sold.
Cost of goods sold was 7.25 percent higher at Rp 1.01 trillion in 2000 from Rp 944 billion the previous year.
The higher cost was caused by higher tin-in-concentrate compensation paid to contractors, higher depreciation expenses and higher royalty payments, Timah said in a statement.
Consolidated sales also suffered a decline last year to Rp 1.64 trillion from Rp 1.69 trillion in 1999, with sales of tin metal the largest contributor amounting to 96 percent of total sales, it said.
The strengthening of the dollar against the rupiah last year had contributed to the company's profitability, the company said.
Sales volume of refined tin was 34,106 tons in 2000, or about 16 percent less than the 40,560 metric tons in 1999.
However, the tin price received by the company was $5,520 per metric ton, or 1.8 percent higher than the realized average price in 1999.
"During 2000, the price of tin fluctuated between a low of $5,111 per metric ton and a high of $6,404 per metric ton, while the average tin price in the international market tended to weaken," it said.
Tin-in-concentrate production was at 40,050 tons in 2000, 8 percent higher than the production in 1999, the company said.
From Offshore dredges, tin-in-concentrate production was 5 percent higher, at 17,751 tons in 2000 compared to 16,981 tons the previous year. Production of inland tin-in-concentrate was 11 percent higher at 22,300 in 2000 compared to 20,095 in 1999.
Refined tin production was 35,550 tons last year, 9 percent lower than the 39,030 tons recorded in 1999.
"This was caused by higher tin-in-concentrates production at the end of the year which the smelter did not manage to refine," Timah said.
The company said that production would continue to be suspended at its subsidiaries in the non-tin exploration sector this year due to prolonged security issues in the areas.
The companies at which production has been suspended are PT Kutaraja Tembaga Raya in Aceh and PT Timah Investasi Mineral in Kalimantan.
In the meantime, PT Timah Investasi Mineral has obtained six exploration permits for gold exploration covering a total area of 51,992 hectares and one exploration permit for coal exploration which covers 53,920 hectares.
The gold exploration permits are for areas in Aceh, West Kalimantan and East Java, while the coal permit covers an area in East Kalimantan.
Timah said the company's investment in New Jersey-based Indometal Corporation -- made in 1968 for marketing tin metal in the United States and Canada -- would formally end soon and that sales transactions had been transferred to Indometal (London) Limited and PT Timah as of December 2000. (tnt)