Astra books Rp 966 billion in net profit

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly-listed PT Astra International said on Monday that it posted Rp 966 billion (about US$100 billion) in unaudited net profit at the end of July on the back of a staggering Rp 17.1 trillion in sales.

The country's largest auto maker said that over the same period last year, it recorded total sales of Rp 15.2 trillion while enduring a net loss of Rp 806 billion.

Astra president TP Rachmat said that the stronger profit was mostly attributed to a better market climate in the domestic automotive industry and a more stable rupiah against the U.S. dollar.

"The market for cars and motorcycles is certainly improving compared with last year.

"And we hope the local currency will be stable at Rp 9,000 to Rp 9,500 against the dollar," Rachmat said on the sidelines of the company's presentation.

In the first seven months of this year Astra sold a total of 174,991 cars, or an increase of 13 percent compared with the same period in 2000.

Of all the brands produced by Astra, Toyota is still the best- selling, as it has a 26 percent share of the domestic car market.

In the motorcycle market, Astra also gained a significant boost from Honda, which has a 51 percent market share, versus 45 percent in the first seven months of last year.

Total domestic motorcycle production in the January-July period of this year increased by 99 percent to 965,621 units, against 484,675 last year.

Rachmat was hopeful that the current, relatively conducive political and economic atmosphere would boost the automotive market this year.

"By the end of the year, we expect the market to be flooded with around 300,000 cars and 1,725,00 motorcycles," he said.

Founded in 1957, Astra International now has 73 subsidiaries and -- apart from the automotive trade -- covers heavy equipment, wood-based industries, electronics, agribusiness, engineering and financial services.

Astra's financial divisions also displayed a strong profit.

PT Astra Credit Companies recorded a net profit of Rp 429 billion, while PT Federal International Finance reaped Rp 178 billion.

Another division contributing to the Astra Group's feat was the agribusiness operation as it booked a 9 percent increase in net profit to Rp 703 billion, from Rp 643 billion in the January- July period of last year.(10)