Hero's profits up 50% last year

Hero's profits up 50% last year

JAKARTA (JP): PT Hero Supermarket, a publicly listed retail
company, reported a 50 percent increase in its net profit to Rp
23 billion (US$9.9 million) last year.

Hero's president, Ipung Kurnia, announced after an
extraordinary shareholders meeting yesterday that the profit
increase was supported by a 22 percent rise in revenues.

"Based on our unaudited report, we booked approximately Rp 778
billion in revenues as compared to Rp 638 billion in 1994," Ipung
said.

He added that the firm expected a sales growth of 20 percent
this year.

Ipung explained that at yesterday's meeting, the shareholders
approved the management's proposals to increase the company's
authorized capital to Rp 450 billion from Rp 140 billion, to
split one old share into two new shares and to set up a new
company.

"The split will be undertaken by halving the nominal value of
the shares from Rp 1,000 to Rp 500. It will double our total
shares to 235.4 million," he said.

The new company to be set up, according to Ipung, will manage
Hero's convenience stores, with a total investment of Rp 7.7
billion.

"We plan to set up eight more convenience stores this year. So
at the end of the year we will have 20 convenience stores," said
Ipung.

Hero, which was founded in 1971, operates 62 outlets
throughout the country. It is slated to set up 11 more outlets
this year. (08)