Malaysia Smelting Corporation has reported improved financial results in the final quarter of 2006, and is hoping for a speedy resolution of the ongoing police investigation of its Indonesian subsidiary PT Koba Tin.
In the notes accompanying the financial results posted with the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange yesterday MSC said that all small scale mining activity on its Contract of Work area had ceased and that the police suspension of all metal shipments from its plant “is very disruptive to the global tin market”.
However the MSC Board was “hopeful that an early resolution could be achieved within the first quarter of this year so that normal mining operations and shipments under a more regulated Indonesian tin industry environment could be resumed as soon as possible.”
Group fourth quarter pre-tax profits more than doubled from the previous quarter to RM29.75 million, mainly due to improved performance from Koba, which lost money in the first three quarters of 2006 as a result of rising costs and lower volumes.
The group pre-tax profit for the year fell by 25% to RM64.68 million, the great majority of which came from MSC’s Butterworth smelter. Koba contributed only RM 9.08 million to the group total.
MSC produced 22,974 tonnes of refined tin in Malaysia and 20,930 tonnes in Indonesia last year.
