Astra's 2000 revenue jumps but forex losses cut profit

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Astra International said on Friday it enjoyed a 91 percent jump in net revenue in 2000 to Rp 28.4 trillion (about US$2.4 billion) from Rp 14.9 trillion the previous year.

However, despite the jump in revenue the company ended with a Rp 239 billion net loss due to the weak rupiah. This was compared to Rp 1.5 trillion in net profit the previous year.

Astra attributed the revenue increase to stronger automotive sales, which soared 125 percent to Rp 24.7 trillion from Rp 11 trillion in 1999.

The rupiah's plunge last year inflicted foreign exchange losses of Rp 2.5 trillion compared to gains of Rp 732 billion the year before, Astra said in a statement.

By the end of 2000, the rupiah had depreciated to 9,380 against the U.S. dollar, sharply down from 7,100 to the dollar at the end of 1999, it said.

Analysts warned a weaker rupiah would hurt Astra because it had not increased the price of its vehicles to reflect the dollar's gains.

But a surge in car sales nationwide and Astra's move to pay part of its foreign loans ahead of their due dates helped cushion the blow of the weaker rupiah.

Astra president Teddy P. Rachmat said that because of improved cash flow, the company was able to repay some of its debts ahead of schedule in September 2000 and March 2001.

"These payments were ahead of schedule. Now the company will focus its attention on paying its series II debts, which fall due in December 2002," he said.

Teddy said Astra planned to settle more of its debts ahead of schedule as the company continued to improve its financial performance.

He gave no figures on Astra's current debt status. Last year, the company reached a deal to restructure $1 billion and Rp 1 trillion in debts.

Astra accounts for over 50 percent of the country's car sales. The company's car sales rose 169 percent last year, with 203,401 units sold from 75,556 units in 1999.

Sales of motorcycles grew 73.3 percent to 476,887 units from 275,195 units the previous year.

The sale of automotive spare parts hit Rp 2.1 trillion, up from Rp 1.6 trillion in 1999.

The company's gross profit rose to Rp 5.1 trillion from Rp 3.3 trillion. Yet its profit margin dropped to 18 percent from 22.2 percent.

Astra said the lower profit margin was partly because the company was slow in raising its car prices. As a result, car sales could not cover the costs of imported raw materials.

"The gross profit margin in the company's plantation division fell, as an oversupply in crude palm oil (CPO) worldwide weakened CPO prices," it said. (bkm)