Cibinong reports loss of US$1.55m

Cement producer PT Semen Cibinong reported a loss of Rp14bn (US$1.55m) last year because of falling exports.

Increase in labor cost and maintenance cost also contributed to the loss, said its president Thomas Ashley Clough.

Clough said the main problem is difficulty in raising the price despite an increase in production cost .  He told shareholders in a meeting, the company posted a net income of Rp174bn mostly in foreign exchange gain. Last year, sales by the company totaled 6.04Mt down from 6.07Mt in 2002.