Bukit Asam Expects Coal Sales to Rise 30% This Year

By Bambang Djanuarto
Monday, Jan 31, 2011
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam expects coal sales volume to gain about 30 percent this year as the Indonesian state-owned miner plans to produce more of the fuel to meet increasing demand, President Director Sukrisno said.
Sales may increase to 16.9 million metric tons this year from 12.95 million tons last year while output may rise to 17.6 million tons from 13.1 million tons, said Sukrisno.
“Demand of coal for domestic and global markets will continue to increase,” Sukrisno, who uses one name, told parliament members in Jakarta today. “Local consumption will rise significantly, especially for power projects.”

Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, is planning to burn more of the fuel to make up for falling crude oil production from aging fields, which led to the country withdrawing from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008. PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the country’s state utility, may more than double its annual coal demand to 95.3 million tons by 2015.
Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra-based Bukit Asam has allocated 1.8 trillion rupiah ($199 million) for capital spending this year to boost production, Sukrisno said. The company expects output to climb to 50 million tons in 2015 and 80 million tons in 2018, he added.

Profit Decline
Net income in 2010 may have been lower than the previous year when the company posted 2.73 trillion rupiah of profit because of lower average coal selling price, the president director said. Profit may have fallen 25 percent to 2.04 trillion rupiah last year, according to average estimate of 19 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Bukit Asam average selling price fell 19 percent last year to 608,000 rupiah a ton, Sukrisno said. “An increase in sales volume could not compensate for a decline in coal price,” he said, adding the company expects the selling price to rise to 800,000 rupiah a ton this year.
Bukit Asam and Mitsubishi Corp. will jointly develop a coal-to-gas plant in Riau with an annual capacity of 6.5 million tons, Sukrisno said. The Indonesian company will also team up with Lurgi AG in a separate project in South Sumatra, he added.
Bukit Asam shares fell 2 percent to 19,750 rupiah at the 4 p.m. Jakarta time close. The stock has risen 18 percent in the past six months, outpacing the 11.5 percent gain in the benchmark Jakarta Composite index. (sourced:bloomberg)