Timah ready take any possible options to survive
Thursday, November 1 2001 - 02:52 AM WIB
PT Timah president Erry Ryana Hardjapamekas said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the options could include merger with other companies, and if the situation is really bad, the company could be liquidated.
Speaking to reporters following the company?s annual shareholders meeting, Erry said that the sharp drop in prices of the tin metal had put the company in a difficult situation.
?I, my self, was socked to see the dramatic drop in tin prices. Early this year, the price of the tin metal reached US$5,000 per ton, now it is only between $3,500 and $3,700 per ton,? he said.
According to him, a number of measures have been taken to minimize the impact of the falling price. The measures include the halt of the offshore mining operations, the reduction of the number of workers, which at present reached 3,750 people .
PT Timah?s net profit dropped to Rp 25 billion as of September this year from Rp 296 billion, last year. Operating income also fell to RP 191 billion from Rp 343 billion in the same period.
The shareholders meeting approved the management proposal to suspend the payment of the company?s final dividend of about Rp 59.86 billion. But the decision is subject to approval from Minister of Finance because the government representatives in the meeting had no authority to approve it. (*)