Cahaya Kalbar profit soars

JAKARTA (JP): Newly-listed PT Cahaya Kalbar, the largest producer of specialty fats, booked a net profit of Rp 9.2 billion (US$3.9 million) for the first half of this year, compared to Rp 1.6 billion gained in the same period of last year.

Cahaya Kalbar's corporate secretary, Robertus Sampara Lie, said yesterday that before the initial public offering of its shares last July, the company projected to make a profit of Rp 6 billion in the first half of the year.

"The higher than expected profit was contributed by the 340 percent increase in our sales revenue," Lie said.

He explained that Cahaya Kalbar's total revenues surged to Rp 50 billion in the first six months of the year from Rp 11 billion in the same period of 1995, partly due to the consolidation of its subsidiary PT Inticocoa Abadi Industri.

The speciality fats produced by the company are widely used as a substitute for cocoa fats in the production of chocolate.

Cahaya Kalbar listed its shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange on July 9. The shares are currently traded at a price level with a price earning ratio of 5.79 times.

The company's profit margin increased from 14 percent in the first half of last year to 18 percent in the same period of this year.

Lie also said that for the whole of this year, the company expects to gain Rp 12 billion in profit. (alo)