Timah sees 2002 net revenue down 20% on lower tin price

PT Timah said its 2002 net revenue is estimated at Rp 1.48 trillion (US$=Rp. 8,938), a fall of about 20 percent compared to the previous year due to lower tin prices.

Timah recorded net revenue of Rp 1.87 trillion in 2001.

Timah's investor relation officer Lily Harlina told AFX-Asia that tin prices have fallen by 9 percent to US$4,062 per ton in 2002 from an average of $4,500 in the previous year, although sales volume and production for the year were maintained.

She said tin production volume rose to about 40,000 tons last year from 38,000 tons a year earlier, with sales volume also estimated at about 40,000 tons.

Harlina said the company is not expecting any growth in sales and production volume this year, but it expects a recovery in tin prices, estimated at an average of $5,000 per ton, which would boost its revenue.

She said tin prices have, so far, reached a high of $4,500 per ton this year, compared to last year's average price of about $4,000.

However, she said the direction of tin prices depends largely on the economic performance of industrialised nations, which could suffer if the US declares war on Iraq.

"This (the war) would likely limit demand for the metal," Harlina said. (*)