Antam?s records 37 percent Q2 profit increase: Report

State miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, said Thursday profit in the three months ended June 30 rose 37 percent as the rupiah weakened against the U.S. dollar, Bloomberg news agency reported.

Profit rose to Rp.158 billion (US$ =10,000) in the three months ended June, from Rp.115.3 billion a year ago. The figure, which Aneka Tambang doesn't report, was derived by subtracting first-quarter net income from the first-half figure. Second-quarter sales rose 16 percent to Rp. 491 billion.

First-half profit rose 24 percent to Rp. 263 billion. A 26 percent decline in the average value of the rupiah in the first six months of the year, to 7,912 per dollar, helped boost sales 15 percent to Rp. 832 billion, the company said. A weakening rupiah multiplies the amount of local currency received for metals sales overseas in dollars.

Ninety-eight percent of Antam's sales are dollar-denominated, while operating costs are mostly rupiah based, it said.

The average sales price of ferronickel, Antam's main product, fell 30 percent to US $2.82 per pound in the first half. Antam's customers include Pohang Iron & Steel Co. and Thyssen AG. (*)