JAKARTA - PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk (KRAS) remains committed to continue its restructuring process, although its revenue in the first semester of 2019 dropped 16.78% year on year (yoy) to US$ 702.05 million.
“Steel imports are still putting pressure on the domestic steel industry. The utilisation rate of HRC (hot rolled coil) production is still under 50%, because imported steel is still dominating the domestic steel provision,” said Krakatau Steel CEO Silmy Karim in an official statement, Sunday (4/8).
According to data from the South East Asian Iron and Steel Institute (SEAIS), in 2018 Indonesia imported 7.6 million tonnes of steel. The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) also records steel and iron as Indonesia’s third largest import commodity, taking up 6.4%% of total imports with a value of US$ 10.25 billion.
Krakatau Steel’s restructuring efforts include debt restructuring and business transformation to improve efficiency and competitiveness globally. In addition, the company will also optimise non-core assets to improve usability and seek strategic partners, turn cost centre business units into profit centre ones, and improve sales patterns to raise sales volume. (MS)