Pertamina books approximately Rp 5 trillion profit
Tuesday, October 10 2000 - 06:30 AM WIB
State oil and gas company Pertamina announced on Tuesday an audited consolidated net profit of Rp 4.981 trillion (US$1=8,820) for the 1999/2000 fiscal year ended March 31. 2000, up from Rp 1.051 trillion in the previous fiscal year.
Pertamina's spokesman Ramli Djaafar said in a statement the company recorded a consolidated gross profit of Rp 12.288 trillion in the period, a 269 percent increase from the gross profit of the previous year.
The government took Rp 7.307 trillion or 60 percent of the Rp 12.288 gross profit, leaving the remaining Rp 4.981 trillion to Pertamina, Ramli said.
"The increase (in the gross profit) is ascribed to the rise in the oil price and the non-existence of foreign exchange loss, which amounted to Rp 8 trillion, in the previous year," Ramli said.
Ramli noted however Pertamina spent some of the Rp 4.981 net profit to buy more fuels to increase the country's fuel stock availability to 25 days from 21 days.
The measure was taken to prevent fuel shortages, which could lead to social and political turmoil, he said.
Ramli said Pertamina received the unqualified opinion from the State Financial Comptroller (BPKP) for its 1999/2000 balance sheet despite the fact that the agency found irregularities worth Rp 2.109 trillion in the period.
He said Pertamina could take quickly and significant follow-up actions on the irregularities worth Rp 1.323 trillion.
The remaining irregularities which Pertamina has yet to follow up are worth Rp 785 billion or 0.93 percent of the company's total assets, Ramli said.
BPKP's acting deputy for oil and gas sector Atjeng Sastrawidjaya said in his speech during the ceremony to deliver the results of the independent auditing of Pertamina's balance sheet that the remaining Rp 785 billion irregularities would be followed up by Pertamina in the following fiscal year.
Atjeng said in his speech that the total contribution of Pertamina's subsidiaries to the company's financial performance was minus Rp 77.133 billion.
He said four of the eight Pertamina's subsidiaries recorded profit in the fiscal year but the profits could not offset the losses suffered by one subsidiary PT El Nusa Tbk. (godang)