PLN suffered a loss of Rp 2.02 trillion in 2004

State owned electricity company PLN suffered a financial loss of at least Rp 2.02 trillion during 2004 despite the company's initial target to book a profit of about Rp 56.38 billion during the year, Koran Tempo reported on Saturday.

PLN's financial director Parno Isworo said that the loss was mainly caused by foreign exchange loss which reached about Rp 1.67 trillion, and the increase in the tax payment to Rp 3.18 trillion during 2004.

PLN's balance sheet has been in the red since 2001 despite the company's massive consolidation measure. In 2003, the financial loss reached Rp 5.9 trillion, slightly down from Rp 6.31 trillion in 2002, but much larger than Rp 317.09 billion booked by the company in 2001.

The company's management has been under fire following its decision to give a special bonus of about Rp 4.3 billion to the board of directors and commissioners despite the loss. PLN, however, defended the financial bonus saying that the management deserved to get the bonus for its success to improve the company's financial performance. (*)