The country’s largest cement producer, state-owned PT Semen Gresik, expects its full-year net profit to rise by more than 10% from 520.59bn rupiah in 2004, Semen Gresik president Dwi Sutjipto said. 
 
Sutjipto said cost reduction measures will offset the impact of higher fuel prices and allow the company to maintain profit growth. Production costs may swell by 12 pct due to the increase in fuel prices, he told reporters.  The government raised fuel prices by an average 126 pct last Saturday to reduce fuel subsidy spending and keep the fiscal deficit within target. 
 
Industrial users like Semen Gresik have been paying fuel at full market prices since July. But companies may still enjoy subsidised fuel when buying gasoline at public gas stations. Saturday’s fuel price hike only affects the cost of transporting the cement, Sutjipto explained. 
 
He said he also expects the group’s cement output to rise by 10 per cenet to around 16.5Mt this year from 15.5Mt last year.