Resource Alam to boost output by nearly 40% next year

By Romel S. Gurky

Despite the lingering downturn in the global coal market, IDX-listed PT Resource Alam Indonesia has set a target to boost coal production next year by about 39.47 percent to 5.3 million tons from 3.8 million tons estimated for this year.

Resource Alam, which operates a 24,477 hectares of coal concession in East Kalimantan through subsidiary PT Insani Bara Perkasa (IBP), said in a presentation materials obtained Tuesday that it was confident the output target could be achieved because it has completed all the necessary infrastructure facilities, IBP has obtained the registered exporter status from the government, and additional output from Separi block.

Meanwhile, the company said that revenue in the first nine months of this year dropped by 30 percent to US$105.68 million compared to the same period of last year as selling price fell amid the lingering downturn in the coal market.

Average selling price for the January-September period of this year declined to $40.21 per ton from $47.82 in the same period of last year.

In the third quarter of this year, the company reported production volume fell to 749,879 tons from 1.22 million tons in the same quarter of last year, while sales volume during the January-March quarter of this year declined to 778,108 tons from 1,05 million tons in the same three-month period of last year.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak