Slow Humpuss Spending Amid Halting Contracts

A barge is loaded with coal at a loading terminal on the Mahakam River, near Samarinda, East Kalimantan. (Photo courtesy of David Fogarty)

Jakarta. Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi, a shipping services company, slashed next year’s investment plan by half after declining coal prices and the government’s raw mineral exports ban halted some of the company’s contracts.

The company earmarked $315 million for next year’s spending, less than half of this year’s planned $650 million, Theo Lekatompessy, Humpuss’s president director, said on Friday.

The company spent only $20 million so far this year on a tanker vessel, Theo said. The remaining projects were mostly delayed because most of Humpuss’s clients were unsure of their contracts due to the country’s economic and political climate, he said.

“The problem is in mining, primarily because of the government’s ban on raw mineral ore exports, which started this January. On top of that, coal prices have been declining since last year,” Theo said.

The company plans to spend $285 million on projects carried over from this year, such as the acquisition of an offshore anchor handling tug supply vessel and three shuttle tankers for liquefied natural gas.

The remaining $30 million will be spent on a tanker for oil products.

Around 80 percent of the planned spending will come from bank loans, while the remaining will be financed through the company’s internal funds, Theo said.

Jakarta-based Humpuss Intermoda currently has 41 vessels that offer shipping services to companies in the liquefied natural gas, petrochemical and oil, and mining industries.

The company booked $1.72 million in net profit in the first nine months this year, down 41 percent from the same period last year, despite revenue climbing 4 percent to $53.9 million.

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