Borneo Lumbung Energi net profit last year at $177 mln

PT Borneo Lumbung Energi and Metal , Indonesia's only listed coking coal miner, reported 2010 full year net profit at $177 million with coal sales volume of 1.65 million tonnes, said Geroad Jusuf, the firm's corporate secretary, on Friday.

This was a turnaround from a 99.8 billion rupiah ($11 million) loss in 2009. ($1 = 9060.000 Rupiah). Source: Reuters

China’s Coal Imports at Record as Temperatures Plunge

China, the world’s biggest coal user, boosted imports of the fuel to a record last month, spurred by temperatures at a 35-year low and stockpiling, according to customs data. 

Imports in December rose 6 percent from a year earlier to 17.34 million metric tons, the General Administration of Customs said in an e-mailed report today. Purchases gained 31 percent to a record 165 million tons in 2010, according to the data. 

“Imports jumped as demand rose in the winter,” Liu Zhaoliang, a coal analyst at Qilu Securities Ltd., said by mobile phone from Shanghai. “Power companies are also ramping up imports to build stockpiles before the Chinese new year.” The Lunar New Year holiday in China starts on Feb. 2. 

Snowstorms hit central and southern China last month, increasing demand for coal used to fuel power stations. Flights were cancelled and residents advised to stay inside as heavy snow fell in Shanghai this week, with more snow predicted. 

The country paid $108 a ton for the fuel in December, and an average of $103 a ton for the year, according to the customs data. The agency didn’t break down the data by type of coal. 

Prices of power-station coal with an energy value of 6,000 kilocalories per kilogram may rise to an average 860 yuan a ton this year from 780 yuan in 2010 at China’s Qinhuangdao port, Ghee Peh, the Hong Kong-based head of Asian mining research at UBS Securities Asia Ltd., said on Jan. 18. 

Indonesia was the nation’s biggest supplier in December and accounted for 33 percent of imports last year, according to the customs data. China boosted purchases from the world’s biggest supplier of thermal coal by 81 percent in 2010 from a year earlier, according to the report. Imports from Australia, the second-biggest supplier, fell 16 percent for the full year.

Australian coking and thermal coal cost $147 a ton on a delivered basis in 2010, according to the customs data. Indonesian thermal coal cost $79 a ton on a delivered basis. 

China may increase coal purchases to 210 million tons this year, Helen Lau, a Hong Kong-based analyst at UOB Kay Hian Ltd., said on Jan. 11. Source: Bloomberg

Bumi’s 2010 Profit May Have Gained 50% as Coal Surges

PT Bumi Resources’s profit may have risen about 50 percent last year as the company, Indonesia’s biggest coal producer, sold more coal at higher prices, said Dileep Srivastava, a director. 

Bumi, based in Jakarta, posted $190.4 million in net income in 2009, Srivastava said in an e-mailed response to query, without providing last year’s figure. Profit may have risen 38 percent to $262.3 million last year, according to the average estimate of 18 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. 

Flooding in Australia, the world’s biggest coal exporter, drove Newcastle prices to the highest this month in more than two years. Power station coal price from Newcastle, an Asian benchmark, rose for a seventh week, climbing to $138.50 a ton on Jan. 14, the highest since September 2008, according to data from Petersfield, England-based IHS McCloskey. 

“Weather is something that no one can predict,” Ari Pitoyo, head of research at PT Mandiri Sekuritas, said by telephone from Jakarta. “The coal price has climbed much higher than our target of $105 a ton, that for 2011 even if there’s a downside in volume,” it won’t hurt Bumi’s earnings very much, he said. 

The unit of PT Bakrie & Brothers sold a “little over” 60 million metric tons last year at an average $70 a ton compared with 58 million tons at $63 a ton in 2009, Srivastava said.

“Assuming reasonable weather conditions, unlike the second half of 2010, Bumi thinks it should be able to increase sales by 10 percent and price by at least 10 percent as well,” Srivastava said. 

Investor Daily Indonesia reported earlier today that Bumi’s revenue may have increased 50 percent last year. 

Bumi shares fell 1.6 percent to close at 3,000 rupiah in Jakarta trading. The stock has jumped 73 percent in the past six months, outpacing the 12 percent gain in the benchmark Jakarta Composite index.  Source: Bloomberg

Tin Rises to Record on Concern Gap in Supply May Worsen; Copper Advances

Tin rose to a record in London on speculation that a shortfall of the metal used to make solders may worsen. 

Stockpiles of tin tracked by the London Metal Exchange shrank by 39 percent in 2010, declining for a fourth year in five. Production may fall for a fourth year in 2011 as bad weather disrupts mining, PT Timah, the world’s biggest supplier, said on Jan. 14. 

“Supply-and-demand fundamentals for tin are extremely positive for higher prices,” said Charles Cooper, an analyst at Oriel Securities Ltd. in London. “This will possibly trigger further investment in exchange-traded funds, and that would put further pressure on the market.” 

Tin for three-month delivery climbed as high as $27,720 a metric ton on the LME. It was up $425, or 1.6 percent, at $27,400 at 12:36 p.m. local time, leading gains among the six main metals traded on the exchange. Prices may exceed $30,000 in the next six months, Cooper said. 

“Tin has the best fundamentals among all the base metals,” said Nic Brown, an analyst at Natixis Commodity Markets Ltd. in London, citing a market “clearly in deficit” and “little prospect for higher supply or substitution.” 

The metal was last year’s best LME performer, jumping 59 percent after production was disrupted in Indonesia, China and Africa. As much as 30,000 tons of output was lost last year, according to Cooper. Prices may reach $40,000 a ton as global supply might lag behind demand until at least 2013, Malaysia Smelting Corp. said this week. 

Tin Inventories

ETF Securities Ltd. introduced the first exchange-traded product backed by tin in London last month. “This put a short- term pressure over availability of tin,” Cooper said. 

Tin stockpiles tracked by the LME rose 0.2 percent to 17,295 tons today, daily exchange figures showed. Orders to draw metal from inventories, or canceled warrants, jumped 58 percent to 475 tons. 

“LME tin stocks are still at a relatively low level,” enough for less than 20 days of use compared to an average of 24 days, while rising canceled warrants signal demand, Oriel’s Cooper said. “This suggests there is a shortage of stock metal.” 

All of the six main LME metals advanced today as German business confidence unexpectedly climbed to a record. The Munich-based Ifo institute’s business climate index gained to 110.3 from 109.8 in December. Economists predicted the gauge would hold steady, according to the median of 41 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

Copper, Aluminum

“A strong Ifo suggests a strong global economy,” said Jesper Dannesboe, a strategist at Societe Generale SA in London. “Historically there has been a close relationship between the leading Ifo survey and base metals.” 

Copper for three-month delivery on the LME rose 1.1 percent to $9,457 a ton. Stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell for the first time in four weeks, according to figures released today. 

Aluminum gained 0.2 percent to $2,414 a ton and nickel climbed 1.1 percent to $26,049 a ton. Zinc added 0.9 percent to $2,350 a ton and lead advanced 1.2 percent to $2,466 a ton. Source: Bloomberg