Astra returned to the black in 2001

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Leading car maker PT Astra International Tbk returned to the black last year after suffering a net loss of Rp 293 billion (about US$29 million) in the previous year.

The company, which is also involved in agribusiness, financial services, the timber industry, information technology, and heavy equipment, said in a statement on Tuesday that its unaudited profit reached Rp 853 million last year on the back of strong sales in its automotive division.

Sales rose by six percent to Rp 30.1 trillion last year from Rp 28.4 trillion in 2000, while operating profit increased to Rp 2.68 trillion from Rp 2.58 trillion.

The company is 32-percent owned by Singapore-based auto distributor Cycle & Carriage Ltd.

Its shares edged down Rp 25 to close at Rp 2,725 on Tuesday.

Besides the strong sales, the company also attributed the 2001 profit to the weakening of pressure from foreign exchange losses that year. It suffered Rp 985 billion in foreign exchange losses that year, as opposed to Rp 2.52 trillion in the previous year.

The rupiah ended at Rp 10,400 to the U.S. dollar by the end of last year, as opposed to Rp 9,380 by the end of 2000.

The company said that 84.9 percent of its consolidated net profit came from the automotive division, with car sales accounting for 4.1 percent of the profit, motorcycle sales 10.3 percent, and automotive components 6.3 percent.

The agribusiness division accounted for 4.7 percent of the net profit, financial services 4.1 percent, the timber division 2.9 percent, information technology 2.4 percent, and heavy equipment 1 percent.

With its Toyota, Isuzu, Daihatsu, BMW, Peugeot cars, and Nissan trucks, Astra controlled 46 percent of the country's four- wheeled vehicle market, which recorded total sales of 299,629 units last year.

"Toyota is the best-selling brand in 2001, with a market share of 26.7 percent," the company said.

The company also reported a record sale of 932,178 units for its Honda motorbike last year, a 95.5 percent increase from 476,887 units in the previous year.

It said that the Honda motorbike achieved the feat thanks to the launching of the Legenda motorbike, which has a better quality, in addition to being more affordable to the public.

"The market share of the Honda motorbike rose to 52 percent in 2001 from 45 percent in 2000," it said.