Baramulti Suksessarana H1 profit plunges on rising expenses

IDX-listed coal mining firm PT Baramulti Suksessarana Tbk posted an almost 75 percent plunge in profit in the first half (H1) of this year as operating costs soared amid falling global coal prices, The Jakarta Globe reported on Wednesday.

Net income dropped 74 percent to $1.8 million in the January-June period of this year from the same period last year, it said in a statement published in the Jakarta Globe newspaper on Tuesday. Revenue rose 9.1 percent to $89 million, while selling and distribution costs climbed 44 percent to $13.8 million.

Baramulti ? established in 1971 by businessman Athanasius Tossin Suharya ? currently operates two mining sites in East and South Kalimantan with the total capacity to produce up to 8.5 million ton of coal by the end of 2014.

The coal miner is targeting production at 5.5 million metric tons of coal this year, up 34 percent from 4.1 million tons in 2013.

Rising costs amid lower selling prices for coal globally have hit many coal mining companies in Indonesia like Baramulti in the first half of this year.(*)