Timah 9-month net profit drops 92 percent

State tin miner PT Timah Tbk reported Rp 25 billion (US$ = 10,300) net profit after tax for the first nine months of the year, 92 percent lower than last year?s corresponding period of Rp 296 billion, while the operating margin for the 9 months of 2001 was Rp 191 billion, 44 percent lower than that last year?s corresponding period of Rp343 billion.

The company said in a statement Wednesday that the steep drop in net profit was due to higher production cost of Rp 1,154 billion compared to Rp 780 billion in the same period last year, an increase of 48 percent.

The company said it posted Rp. 101 billion loss during the third quarter of this year as the result of lower average tin price. The company received US $4,066 per ton of tin in the third quarter, compared to $ 5,213 per ton in the first quarter and $ 4,066 per ton in the second quarter.

The company said average world tin price in the first nine months of 2001 was 15 percent lower compared to the same period last year. As a result the company?s average selling price was also lowered by 16.3 percent from $ 5,563 to $ 4,658 per ton in 9 months period of 2001.

The company said in the nine months period of 2001, total production of refined tin increased from 25.522 tons to 27.899 tons, a 9 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Consequently sales volume was 5 percent higher from 26,606 tons to 28,030 tons. Meanwhile, tin-in-concentrate production increased by 20 percent to 34,384 tons from 28,637 tons of the same period last year.

The company said it would seek approval from shareholders in extra ordinary general meeting to which will be held on 31 October 2001 to approve a proposed Contingency Plan for the Company?s survivability and the cancellation of the second dividend payment for the year 2000, originally scheduled to be paid on 13 December 2001.(alex)