State-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) reported that the burgeoning middle class was playing an important role in its business, creating robust gold demand and pushing sales up.

Antam’s latest financial report shows that its revenue rose by 23.4 percent to Rp 8.81 trillion (US$775.69 million) during the first nine months of this year.

Although both its gold and refinery, and nickel segments posted increases, gold recorded the highest rise.

According to the report, its gold and refinery segment surged around 50 percent to Rp 4.09 trillion, making up almost half of Antam’s top line.

Antam corporate secretary Tri Hartono said on Friday that people’s purchasing power had improved in tandem with more favorable economic conditions while, at the same time, the price of gold declined.

That combination, he said, had provided many Indonesians with the opportunity to purchase gold for investment purposes.

Between January and September, Antam’s average selling price for gold stood at $1,573.44 per troy ounce, down from $1,694.89 per troy ounce in the same period in 2012, and its sales volume rose by 55 percent to 7.63 tons.

It also attributed the higher gold sales to the expansion of its distribution channels, having opened an additional outlet at its main office in Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta.

The company now runs a total of four outlets, including Pulogadung, East Jakarta; Surabaya, East Java, and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Meanwhile, the firm’s nickel segment posted Rp 4.62 trillion, a 10.2 percent increase from the 2012 figure. The segment contributed 52.4 percent to Antam’s overall revenue.

In the nickel segment, Antam currently offersferronickel and nickel ore.

Between January and September, the ferronickel sales volume decreased by 12.7 percent to 11,467 tons of nickel (TNi) on the back of the weak eurozone economy and an oversupply in the global nickel market.

On the other hand, the total sales volume of its nickel ore — comprising high- and low-grade nickel ore — surged 30.9 percent to 8.6 million wet metric tons (wmt).

Antam said that the planned ban on ore exports in 2014 had driven higher demand for its nickel ore.

According to the financial report, the remainder of Antam’s revenue was made up by other businesses, consisting of the sale of silver, bauxite and coal.

However, its net profits fell by 44.6 percent to Rp 348 billion, despite booking a rise of more than 20 percent in revenue, crunched by higher costs and expenses.

The highest increase was reported in the cost of goods sold, up 31.4 percent to Rp 7.52 trillion.

Tri said the company hoped to sell a total of 12 tons of gold next year, along with its plan to open between five to 10 more outlets in Jakarta; Bandung, West Java; Surabaya, and Palembang, South Sumatra.

In the nickel segment, business would depend on the implementation of the export ban, according to Tri.

“On the downside, Antam will lose income from its ore exports, but on the upside, there will be an increase in the global commodity price, in line with supply and demand,” he said, adding that the higher price was expected to boost profits.

As of September, Antam’s total assets amounted to Rp 21.25 trillion. Its liabilities stood at Rp 8.52 trillion and its equities totaled Rp 12.73 trillion. The company’s shares, sold under the code ANTM, closed at Rp 1,550 on Friday, down 3.1 percent from the previous day.