Inco enjoys strong profit in Q1 on high nickel price

The net profit (unaudited) of publicly-listed nickel producer PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk (Inco) has reached US$73.4 million during the first quarter of 2004, the Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported in its Friday edition.

This figure is almost five times higher than a net profit of $15 million booked during the same period last year.

Inco’ president and chief executive officer Bing R. Tobing said the main reason for the huge jump in company’s net profit was due to sharp increase in nickel prices.

“The average price realization for Inco during the first quarter of 2004 was rose 87 percent from the first quarter of 2003 and 35 percent from the fourth quarter of 2003, Tobing said in a press release on Thursday.

The company has realized the average nickel selling-price of $11,625 per ton during the first quarter of 2004, or an increase of 87.25 percent in compared to $6,208 per ton during the same period in 2003.

During the first quarter of 2004, the company’s sales stood at $191.88 million, or rose 120 percent from the first quarter sales in 2003 and an increase of 18 percent from the fourth quarter sales in 2003.

Tobing also mentioned that Inco has the commitment to fulfill the production target of 160 million pounds of nickel during 2004 despite problems at the processing factory. (*)