Antam nickel output drops 33%

State-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (ANTM) Tbk reported 33% drop in ferronickel output in the second quarter 2009 due to the production halt at FeNi III plant since May 2009. 

ANTM expects the plant to resume operation in September 2009. ANTM also reported 27% drop in high grade nickel ore to 913,206 WMT. During the quarter, ANTM reported 36% drop in nickel ore to 2.347 million wmt.Bauxite sales also dropped 74% to 87,800 tons. 

Gold sales, meanwhile, jumped 93% in second quarter compared to the previous quarter, but for the first half 2006, gold sales actually declined 36% from the same period last year. 

As a result, ANTM reported 16% decline in sales revenue to Rp4.396 trillion in H1 2009. Domestic sales of gold skyrocketed by 244% to Rp1.33 trillion in the period, and that had helped ANTM in fill the gap of falling revenue from nickel and bauxite. 

In contrast to its operational performance, ANTM stock price has surged 84% in the second quarter. 

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