PTBA Remains Upbeat Despite Turbulent Coal Market

KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) remains optimistic about its financial performance this year, despite the decrease in coal prices. The company has set targets for an increase in coal production, transportation volume, and sales.

According to PTBA's CEO, Arsal Ismail, the company is targeting coal production of 41 million tonnes this year, up 11% from the realized production of 37.1 million tonnes in 2022. The transportation volume target for 2023 has also increased to 32 million tonnes, up 11% from the realized transportation of 28.8 million tonnes in 2022.

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In terms of coal sales volume in 2023, the state-owned company is targeting sales of 41.2 million tonnes, a 30% increase from the realized coal sales of 31.7 million tonnes in 2022.

To support its expansion plans this year, PTBA has allocated a capital expenditure (capex) of IDR 6.4 trillion, significantly higher than the planned capex of IDR 2.9 trillion last year. Last year's capex absorption rate was only around 28%, meaning that PTBA's capital spending this year has significantly increased.

According to PTBA's Finance and Risk Management Director, Farida Thamrin, the capital expenditure will be allocated for various purposes, including routine investments in subsidiaries and development investments.

The company has several ongoing development projects, including the Mulut Tambang Sumsel-8 coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 2x660 MW. The power plant will require around 5.4 million tonnes of coal per year and is expected to start commercial operations this year.

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PTBA and PLN are also exploring the early retirement of the Pelabuhan Ratu 3x350 MW coal-fired power plant.

In addition, Arsal did not rule out the possibility of PTBA expanding into other mines.

However, he emphasized that the company would be very selective in planning its expansion, especially in mine expansion. This is because PTBA has abundant coal reserves, more than 5 billion metric tonnes, with minable resources reaching 3 billion metric tonnes.

"For now, our focus is on existing sources. But we will enter if there are opportunities, of course, with careful study and analysis," Arsal added.

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Last year, PTBA achieved a net profit of IDR 12.6 trillion, up 59% from the previous year, which was the company's highest profit in history. This achievement was supported by an increase in revenue. In 2022, PTBA's revenue reached IDR 42.6 trillion, up 146% from 2021's revenue of IDR 29.3 trillion.