Wed, 15 Nov 2000

Astra's operating profit rises 76%

JAKARTA (JP): PT Astra International more than doubled its net operating revenues to Rp 20.2 trillion (US$2.2 billion at the current exchange rate) in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier and posted a 76 percent increase in its operating profit to Rp 2.4 trillion.

But the company ended up the period under review with a net loss of Rp 273 billion due to foreign exchange losses caused by the sharp fall in the rupiah's exchange rate against the American dollar, Astra Corporate Secretary Aminuddin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Aminuddin said that although the net loss was much lower than the Rp 702 billion loss suffered in the first six months, foreign exchange losses and foreign exchange swap costs remained high at Rp 1.9 trillion.

The losses, he added, were caused mainly by the weakening of the rupiah from Rp 7,100 per dollar at the end of 1999 to Rp 8,780 at the end of September.

He stressed, however, that all major business divisions of Astra International enjoyed robust sales growth in the period under review.

"Our car sales more than tripled to 105,432 units or about 50 percent of the total domestic market and our automobile exports increased by 69 percent to 36,424 units," Aminuddin said.

Its Honda motorcycle sales also expanded by 80 percent to 323,865 or 55 percent of the national motorcycle market.

He said that the latest data showed Astra's automobile sales had increased further to 121,815 units in the first ten months while motorcycle sales had risen to 373,273 units.

Astra is the sole agent and assembler of Toyota, Daihatsu, Isuzu, BMW and Peugeot cars and Nissan trucks.

Aminuddin said that Astra's plantation division (mostly producing crude palm oil) increased its sales by 32 percent and the financial services division by 52 percent.

Aminuddin explained that different from Astra's consolidated financial report for the first semester, the financial statement for the third quarter no longer included its subsidiary PT Federal Motor (the producer of Honda motorcycles).

"This is because Federal Motor was restructured in late August under a joint venture with Honda Motor Co.," he added.

When the joint venture agreement becomes effective on Dec. 31, PT Federal Motor will be merged with PT Honda Federal into a new joint venture company called PT Astra Honda Motor, which will be owned equally by Astra and Honda Motor Co.

As part of the joint venture agreement, Astra International will transfer the distributorship of Honda motorcycles to Astra Honda Motor for a consideration of Rp 1.12 trillion, Aminuddin added. (vin)