Astra profit increases by 8%

Astra profit increases by 8%

Bloomberg, Jakarta

PT Astra International, Indonesia's biggest auto distributor, said nine-month profit rose 8 percent as lower interest rates boosted demand for its cars.

Net income in the nine months ended Sept. 30 rose to Rp 3.99 trillion (US$439 million) from Rp 3.70 trillion a year earlier, the company said in an e-mailed statement. Sales rose 32 percent to Rp 31.4 trillion from Rp 23.9 trillion.

Low interest rates, a growing economy and peaceful elections this year boosted consumer confidence. Benchmark rates on one- month central bank bills averaged 7.5 percent in the first nine months of the year, compared with 11 percent in the same period last year.

Jakarta-based Astra sold 154,514 cars in the January- September period, or 38 percent more than the same period last year, the company said earlier this month. Motorcycle sales in the nine-month period rose 30 percent to 1.54 million units.

Still, the nine-month profit rose less than a 10 percent expected gain President Director Budi Setiadharma gave earlier this week.

Jakarta-based Astra, which is more than two-fifths owned by Singapore-based Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., said it recorded net other income of Rp 1.01 trillion in the first nine months of the year from selling stakes in units, compared with Rp 1.87 trillion in gains in the year-earlier period.