Tinplate Producer Latinusa Targets 10 Percent Profit Growth In 2021

Illustration. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - Tinplate or tin plate manufacturer, PT Pelat Timah Nusantara Tbk (Latinusa) targets 10 percent profit growth to reach $ 2.98 million in 2021. In 2020, NIKL-coded issuer posted a net profit of $ 2.71 million or a slight increase of 1.41 percent compared to 2019 reached $ 2.68 million.

President Director of Pelat Timah Nusantara Jetrinaldi said, along with the achievement of the profit, in the next year the company will distribute dividends to shareholders. Despite posting a net profit last year due to efficiencies by suppressing expenses posts, the company's comprehensive profit was minus 2.94 percent from $ 2.58 million in 2019 to $ 2.51 million.

"We have not been able to distribute dividends this year, if we can be positive this year we will automatically split the dividend because it has been a long time since shareholders expected a dividend", Jetrinaldi said in a public expose after the Latinusa AGM virtually, in Jakarta, Thursday, April 8.

Furthermore, he explained, Latinusa allocates capital expenditure (Capex) of $ 2.9 million, lower than last year which reached $ 4.8 million. Latinusa, which is majority-owned by a consortium of Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation, Mitsui Co Ltd, Nippon Steel Trading Corporation, and Metal One, adopted the principle of prudence amid global economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We as the sole manufacturer of tinplate products in the country, attach importance to efficiency in all fields", he explained.

Efficiencies include reducing production costs, improving innovation, and optimizing lead use. Thus, the need for capital expenditure this year is not too much.

"Capex 2021 has started tighter $ 2.9 million focused on the efficiency of tin consumption considering tin raw materials are the second-largest production cost after TMBP (tin mill black plate). Capex is but outside maintenance", he explained.

Jetrinaldi said that by 2020 Latinusa's market share will rise 1 percent to 64 percent, while 34 percent will be held by imported tinplates. Market segmentation in the last year dominated tinplate packaging for dairy products, biscuits and sweets, chemicals, and food.

"With the government's encouragement to maximize domestic production, it is expected that market share can rise above 64 percent", he concluded.