PLN suffers $2.55b in loss
Thursday, March 6 2014 - 12:52 AM WIB
The firm sells power in rupiah, while having huge liabilities in the US dollar.
The figures released on Wednesday are slightly different from the figures announced by the firm to the press on the sidelines of the hearing with the House of Representatives last month. At that time, the firm?s Finance Director Setio Anggoro Dewo said the firm suffered Rp 30.9 trillion in loss last year. In 2012, the firm booked a profit of Rp 3.2 trillion.
Setio said the firm had global bonds worth $5.5 billion and debts amounting to $8 billion owed to international lenders such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In the Wednesday press release, the firm also said its operating profit rose by 23.5 percent or Rp 7 trillion to Rp 36.5 trillion last year. Sales rose 10.6 percent to Rp 257.4 trillion from Rp 232.7 trillion, but expenses rose 8.8 percent to Rp 220.9 trillion from Rp 203.1 trillion in the previous year.
The small increase in the expenses reflected the firm?s success in controlling its expenses, PLN claimed. Administrative and general expenses, which are all controllable costs, rose by only 5.7 percent from Rp 5.2 trillion in 2012 to Rp 5.5 trillion in 2013. The rest was caused by uncontrollable costs resulting from the increase in the consumption and price of fuels and lubricants.
The firm suffered Rp 42.2 trillion in foreign exchange loss last year, while loan interest rose by Rp 5.5 trillion.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon