REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- State owned gas distributot PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (PGN) reported U.S.$227.34 million in net profit in the first half of the year down 38.56 percent from the same period last year.

PGN corporate secretary Heri Yusup attributed the decline in profit to the country's flagging economy and falling value of rupiah against the U.S. dollar.

The economic slowdown has its impact on the performance of PGN's customers especially the industrial sector and power generating sector, Heri said here on Monday.

"The decline in the performance of the customers resulted in weak demand for gas," he said.

The company's net income in the first half of 2015, totaled U.S.$1.42 billion, down 12.91 percent from U.S.$1.63 billion in the same period last year.

Heri Yusup said he is optimistic the company would post better performance on prediction that the condition of country's economy would improve in coming months.

PGN is still focused on developing gas infrastructure to increase the use of natural gas in the country, he said.

He cited, in August 2015, PGN already finished construction of the first phase of the Kalimantan-Java (Kalija I) gas pipe including 203 kilometers in the sea bed and 4 kilometers on land, and a gas station to support the pipe system.

He said PGN has been charged with the duty of increasing the sue of gas for household fuel and for that purpose, PGN would operate gas pipe networks built by the energy and mineral resources ministry, covering 43,334 households in 11 cities or regencies.

The cities and regencies are Semarang for 4,000 households, , Blora for 4,000 households, the Greater Jakarta area for 5,234 low cost apartments, regency of Bogor 4,000 households, Cirebon 4,000 households, Palembang 3,311 households, Surabaya 2,900 households, Depok 4,000 households, Tarakan 3,366 households, Bekasi 4,628 households and regency of Sorong 3,898 households.

"The new household customers would add to the present number of PGN's customer of around 100,000 households," Heri said.

Heri Yusup said PGN is set to continue to be the main supplier of natural gas for household and industrial consumers including small and medium enterprises, commercial sector, industrial sector , power generating plants and transport sector.

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