Bumi has income forecast raised

PT Bumi Resources, Indonesia?s biggest coal exporter, had its 2006 profit estimate raised by Merrill Lynch & Co., after the investment bank increased its forecast for coal prices, The Jakarta Post reported on Monday.

PT Bumi may earn Rp 2.59 trillion (US$282 million), or Rp 133.65 a share, Merrill analyst Verdi Budiman said Friday in a note to investors. Merrill on Feb. 1 had cut its forecast by 9 percent to Rp 114.94 a share.

?The revision is primarily driven by the upgrade in thermal coal price,? Budiman said in the note. ?Coal contract settlement price for the Japanese fiscal year (ending March 2007) is turning out to be significantly better than what the spot market suggested a few months ago.?

Prices of thermal coal, used to generate power, has been rising on supply constraints and demand from China, which has cut exports of the fuel to meet local consumption. China?s coal imports rose 28 percent in January, while exports dropped 39 percent, according to customs data.

Merrill raised its estimate for annual thermal coal to $48 a ton, from $43 a ton, because of higher rates for the fuel for immediate delivery. (*)