Antam sales plunge on lower prices as ore exports ban

It is reported that state run diversified miner Aneka Tambang (Antam) wrapped up 2014 with sliding sales due to the government’s ore-exports ban and weak commodity prices, despite significant growth in the company’s ferronickel business.

Antam’s unaudited sales plunged 16% in 2014 to IDR 9.46 trillion (USD 741.67 million) compared to the IDR 11.29 trillion generated in 2013.

The declining sales are in line with the plunging prices of gold and nickel as our main products, as well as the government’s policy to restrict raw mineral ore exports.

Spot gold fell 1.4% last year after a 28% drop in 2013 as a surge in equities and an improving US economy prompted some investors to shift away from the metal.

Antam saw its gold sales rise by just 5% by volume and 6% by value to 9.88 tonnes and IDI 4.93 trillion, respectively.

Meanwhile, the government’s ore exports ban, effective early last year as a follow up to the 2009 Mining Law, triggered a significant drop in nickel sales, one of the company’s largest sources of revenue.

Antam’s nickel sales plummeted 98% to IDR 89 billion last year from IDR 4.08 trillion in the previous year, while production slumped by around 90% to 1.14 million wet metric tons.

The export restriction is mirrored in the company’s 2014 net sales, with the contribution of gold and ferronickel to total exports up significantly as a result of declining nickel sales. Gold accounted for 52% of the company’s top line, with ferronickel following at 42%.

The figure stands in sharp contrast to 2013, when gold contributed some 42 percent to the company’s total sales, followed by nickel ore at 36 percent and ferronickel at 18 percent.

Following the raw ore-exports ban, the company’s annual ferronickel sales volumes increased by about 37% to 19,748 nickel tons in ferronickel (TNi), while its ferronickel income grew by around 93% from IDR 2.7 trillion to IDR 4 trillion this year.

Meanwhile, in the coal sector, major coal producer Adaro Energy ended 2014 with production rising by around 8% to 56.21 million tons. Adaro expects that this year’s level will be similar to last year’s level or up by 3% to 58 million tonnes.