INDUSTRY.co.id - Cilegon - PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk plans to increase sales in 2018 by increasing sales volume by 40 percent to 2.8 million tons.

According to Senior Vice President of Corporate Secretary of PT Krakatau Steel, Suriadi Arif in Cilegon, Thursday (25/1/2018) the plan of this increase in line with projected domestic steel demand is also increasing.

If in 2016, domestic steel needs only reached 12.7 million tons. This requirement is projected to continue to increase in the coming year, averaging an increase of 1 million tons of steel annually.

Suriadi said, in 2016, steel prices began to improve. this condition will continue in 2017, and will continue in 2018.

This KRAS-coded state-owned company plans to continue to improve its performance gradually.

This is driven by the improvement in steel prices significantly over the past two years.

"If from 2011 to 2015 steel prices continue to decline, the price of domestic CFR HRC in December 2017 has reached 562 US dollars per Metric Ton sharply increased 260 percent from December 2015 which only reached 216 US dollars per Metric Ton," said Suriadi Arif to the media crew.

Nevertheless, pressure on cost of production is still sufficiently affected by high energy costs such as gas and electricity.

To maintain the balance, Krakatau Steel's steel producers conducted an operating pattern by implementing a make or buy strategy, which is to run a semi-finished product factory combined with the procurement pattern of competitive imported semi-finished product raw materials.

"This operating strategy raises optimism that the company will achieve profit in 2018," said Suriadi Arif.