VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

State-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) posted a profit of Rp929 billion in the first quarter of 2021, which was 104 percent higher than the target set in the company's business plan.



The profit was realized through efficiencies in operating and financial expenses as well as gas raw material consumption, and rising sales of non-fertilizer products and non-commercial fertilizer products, the company's finance and investment director Eko Taufik Wibowo disclosed in a written statement released on Thursday.



The efficiencies in operating expenses were driven by efforts made by the company, particularly in managing account receivables, low interest expenses, and achieving efficiency in various fields, including the supply chain, he informed.



"One of the efforts was the warehouse repositioning program to keep distribution costs down," he said.



Pupuk Indonesia recorded a sales volume of 3.3 million tons in the year ended March 31, 2021.



To realize the government's mandate, the company has been giving priority to meeting domestic needs, particularly for subsidized fertilizer, Wibowo said. As of March, 2021, the company has distributed 1.93 million tons of subsidized fertilizer, and the figure is expected to increase as the country is entering the planting season this year, he added.



Meanwhile, the total production of all types of fertilizers in the first three months of 2021 reached 4.93 million tons, or 107 percent of the target set in the business plan, he said.  (Antaranews)