Berau management decided there was “not sufficient evidence to support the capitalization of certain expenditures” estimated at about $56 million last year, according to a Bumi statement. The spending, officials added, will be allocated within 2012 income statements, and thus excluded from underlying results.
On March 19, Bumi announced the earnings disclosure delays while reviewing a balance sheet of its 85%-owned Jakarta-based Berau unit, the country’s fifth-largest coal company. The Bakrie clan owns a multi-billion dollar media and mining conglomerate that includes assets representing some 50% of Indonesia’s coal production.
Bumi has been working to separate from the Bakries after defeating an attempt by Rothschild to assert control over the Bumi board. There’s a likelihood its full-year results will need to be further delayed; Berau officials are also unable to verify $38 million in land payments, Bumi added. The transactions are under review and a provision will be taken once this is complete.
Bumi Plc leadership “is intent on clarifying and rectifying these issues and engaging with the previous management team,” said Bumi representatives. Controversial tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, who went head-to-head against Rothschild, has announced plans to seek the Indonesian presidency in 2014. Along with coal, Indonesia’s vast and diverse mining-driven economic boom has made it Southeast Asia’s fastest growing nation along with consumer spending patterns with a burgeoning middle class—both of which allowed it to emerge unscathed from the global recession.
