Excess stock pushes down sales of Voksel
JAKARTA (JP): PT Voksel Electric Tbk, a publicly listed cable producer, said yesterday the fall in its sales in the first half of this year was caused by overhanging cable stocks in the market.
Company corporate secretary Hendru Widjaya said he was optimistic sales would improve in the current semester as demand would increase.
Voksel reported a 10.75 drop in sales to Rp 111 billion (US$40.4 million) in this year's first semester, compared to Rp 124 billion in the corresponding period last year.
"This is not an indicator of cables trade this year, because we have a lot of orders to be fulfilled," he said.
Electrical and telephone cables are the main products of PT Voksel but it also produces enameled wires and aluminum wire rod.
Despite the drop in sales, the company's profit in the first semester of 1997 increased by 31 percent to Rp 3.2 billion from Rp 2.5 billion in the same period last year.
Voksel also reported it had signed a cooperation agreement with nine consortiums in March to develop a telecommunications network in East Java.
Commenting on state-owned electricity company PLN and PT Telkom's policy to establish consortiums in their projects, Hendru said the policy would help the local cable industry develop.
He said the company's participation in the consortium would have a positive impact on the company's cable sales.
Sales of electricity cables rose 42 percent in the first half of this year, partly attributed to the joint projects, he said.
He predicted the policy would further push up sales in 1998, due to the construction of new electricity projects and the increased demand for cable.
Hendru said Voksel would begin operating its optical fiber plant soon with an annual capacity of 100,000 core kilometers per year.
Hendru said the plant, built with US$30 million investment, would be used to supply the company's telecommunications project in East Java.
PT Voksel, which was established in 1971, is jointly owned by Japan's PT Showa Electric Wire and Cable Co. Ltd. It has exported its products to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. (08)