Samindo eyes coal output of 11m tons

IDX-listed coal mining services firm PT Samindo Resources Tbk is eying to produce 11 million tons of coal this year, about the same as last year?s output of 10.8 million tons, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted company Director S. Witoro Soelarno as saying that while the company has greater production capacity, its sole client coal mining firm PT Kideco Jaya Agung only requested for the limited coal production volume this year amid the lingering weak coal market.

Samindo and Kideco are both controlled by South Korea?s Samtan Co Ltd.

With the relatively stagnant coal output, Samindo only allocates US$7 million of capital expenditure this year, a significant drop from last year?s $25 million, to be funded via internal funds and bank loans, Witoro said.

He added that the capital expenditure would be mostly used for maintenance of equipment and purchasing of new ones.

Meanwhile, Kontan Witoro as saying that the company plans to move upstream by acquiring a coal mine to be integrated with a proposed mine mouth power plant project. No further details were provided. (*)