Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Timah Tbk. (TINS) booked a net profit of Rp689 billion in the first semester this year which was an increase of 113.98 percent from Rp322 billion in the same period last year.

Corporate secretary Rielisa Fitria said in a press statement received here on Thursday one of the drivers of the company`s profit hike was the selling price of tin metal which was 69 percent higher than that of the same period last year.

She said the price of tin metal the company gained in the period was recorded at US$29,541 while the price of the commodity in the same period last year was recorded at only US$17,529.

She said the highest price of tin metal in the first semester of 2011 was US$33,255 per metric ton and the lowest was US$24,600 per metric ton with the average price standing at US$29,337 per metric ton which was 67 percent higher than that of the same period last year recorded at US$17,529.

"The world consumption of tin metal is predicted to continue to rise in the years to come while the world consumption of tin metal in 2011 is estimated to be two percent higher than that of the same period last year," she said.

She said PT Timah has been striving to increase its revenue by focusing on premium metal sales and development of downstream products.

She said the company also tried to reduce its dependency on-land mining by increasing the capacity of off-shore mining.

"Right now the company is still building a Bucket Wheel Dredge type dredger with a better technology that could dredge deeper than the present Bucket Line Dredge could achieve to support the company`s `go offshor go deeper" plan," she said.

She said the production of tin ore from offshore mines in the first semester this year totalled 8,255 ton sn, down nine percent from 9,085 tons in 2010.

She said total ore production from on-land mines reached 9,446 tons sn up 11 percent from 8,503 ton sn in 2010.

"Production of tin metal until the end of June 2011 was recorded at 18,455 metric tons while metal production reached 19,501 tons," she said.

PT Timah`s consolidated revenue in the first semester this year rose 29 percent to Rp4.830 trillion compared to Rp3,749 trillion in the same period last year.

For the period until June 30, 2011, the company`s assets were recorded at Rp6.528 trilion, 11 percent higher than Rp5.881 trillion by December 2010.

"The rise in the value of assets was followed by a rise in short-term liabilities by 32 percent," she said.

She said the value of short-term liabilities on June 30, 2011 reached Rp1.675 trillion and the debt value on December 31, 2010 was recorded at Rp1.269 trillion.

In the first semester this year, the price of tin stock fluctuated with its highest recorded at Rp2,925 and its lowest at Rp2,375 per share.

"Until June 30, 2011 the stock price was closed at Rp2,500 per share down a little from the opening price early in January, 2011 at Rp2,850," she said.