Gudang Garam's net profit falls

Gudang Garam's net profit falls

JAKARTA: Indonesia's largest cigarette producer PT Gudang Garam said on Monday its net profit for the first quarter of this year fell 5.6 percent to Rp 483.28 billion from Rp 511.71 billion during the same period last year.

The company said its sales for the first three months of this year were up 24 percent to Rp 5.848 trillion from Rp 4.699 trillion in 2002.

But the increase in its sales was offset by the higher cost of sales after the government raised the excise tax on cigarettes late last year.

The company said its higher cost of sales, which ballooned to Rp 4.707 trillion from Rp 3.593 trillion, also reflected the impact of the government's controversial hikes of fuel prices and electricity tariffs late last year. -- Dow Jones