PT Semen Gresik to Acquire Coal Mine

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Cement producer PT Semen Gresik Tbk.  is conducting a feasibility study with regard to its plan to acquire a coal mine in the Riau province, Sumatra.

Its director of business development, Erizal Bakar, said here on Wednesday the acquisition was aimed at assuring energy supply to the company’s plants in Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi.

"The coal mine in Riau is expected to be able to meet the coal need of Semen Padang," he said after an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. Erizal said the acquisition process was expected to finish in the first semester of 2012.

"Until now the study is still ongoing on the mine which is predicted to have a coal reserve of 16 million tons with calorie content of 4,800 to 5,500 cal," he said.

He stated the company is also exploring the possibility of conducting operations cooperation in a coal mine in South Kalimantan with a reserve of eight million tons and calorie content of 5,800 to 6.100 cal.

"This is a mere production cooperation. The portion is not yet known. Later it will produce one million ton a year to meet the need of Tonasa plant," he said.

Erizal could not as yet reveal the cost of the acquisition and the cooperation venture because they are still being explored. Totally Semen Gresik Group needs four million tons of coal a year for PT Semen Padang (one million ton), PT Semen Gresik Tbk. (two million tons) and PT Semen Tonasa (one million ton).

Regarding the company’s performance in the first semester this year he said PT Semen Gresik Tbk. booked an revenue hike of 14.11 percent to Rp7.60 trillion from Rp6.66 trillion in the previous same period.

With the increasing revenue the company booked a net profit of Rp1.89 trillion, up from Rp1.62 trillion in the same period last year. Based on that the profit per share was up from Rp274 to Rp316.