Bimantara Citra performs well, increase profit

Bimantara Citra performs well, increase profit

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly-listed PT Bimantara Citra has reported
an 80 percent increase in its net consolidated profit for the
first nine months of this year, to Rp 80.99 billion (US$35.4
million) from Rp 45.05 billion in the corresponding period of
1994.

Finance Director Kadir Assegaf said yesterday the net profit
in the January-September period exceeded the net income of Rp
54.96 billion booked for the whole of 1994.

He attributed the sharp increase in the income to a
significant contribution from the company's broadcasting and
transportation arms, its most lucrative lines of business.

Bimantara and its subsidiaries, majority-owned by President
Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo, are involved in business
activities including television broadcasting, telecommunications,
infrastructure and financial services.

Kadir said that the group's media and broadcasting division,
now comprised of only PT Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia
(RCTI), contributed 38.21 percent to total earnings in the first
nine months of this year. The transportation and automotive
division contributed another 23.53 percent and the chemicals
division about four percent.

He said that the earning contribution from the other six
business lines, including telecommunications, infrastructure,
property and financial services, remained insignificant because
most of them were still in the construction stage.

The business group listed 200 million of its shares on the
Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in July this year.

"I am sure that in the next five years, the earning
contribution from the broadcasting division will be surpassed by
those from the infrastructure and telecommunications sectors,"
Kadir said

He added that RCTI's earnings surpassed their projected level
in spite of the growing competition from the four other private
television stations.

He said that RCTI's share in the television advertisement
market was initially projected to decline to 35 percent this
year, from 48 percent in 1994, as a result of the tighter
competition.

"But the decline was much smaller than our estimate and we are
happy to see that RCTI still controlled about 39 percent of the
market in the January-September period," he said.

The broadcasting and transportation division's earnings would
further support the group's consolidated profit in the fourth
quarter, given the promising prospects in the market, he said.
(hen)