JAKARTA. The financial report of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) (Persero) revealed that the company managed to generate a profit of Rp 7.35 trillion in the first semester (1H) of 2019, much better than in the same period of 2018 when the company recorded a net loss of Rp 5.35 trillion.
Finance Director of PLN, Sarwono Sudarto, revealed that the achievement was supported by an increase in the company's sales revenue by 4.95% from Rp 127.16 trillion recorded in 1H 2018 to Rp 133.45 trillion. This occurred despite the fact that the government has maintained electricity tariffs in order to maintain people's purchasing power and support national economic growth.
The sales growth came from the 4.41% increase in sales volume from 113.52 Terra Watt-hour (TWh) in 1H 2018 to 118.52 TWh. The increase in consumption was also supported by an increase in the number of customers, which until the end of June 2019 had reached 73.62 million, 3.92 million more than the record in June 2018 of 69.7 million customers.
The increase in the number of customers also helped to increase in the national electrification ratio, from 98.3% at the end of 2018 to 98.81% at 30 June 2019. (AM/AR)