Intraco expects bullish market

JAKARTA (JP): PT Intraco Penta, the publicly listed heavy equipment and spare parts distributor, expects a bullish market this year due to growing activity in the country's mining and forestry sectors.

Finance director Petrus Halim said on Friday that sales were projected to increase by nearly 140 percent to Rp 616.2 billion (about US$82 million) this year from Rp 258.8 billion last year due to a surge in orders from forestry and mining companies.

Speaking at a news conference held in connection with the company's 30th anniversary, Petrus said the company, which suffered a net loss of Rp 15.4 billion in 1998, managed to book a pretax profit of about Rp 66 billion in 1999, partly due to the rescheduling of the company's foreign debts.

In May, the company reached an agreement with foreign and local creditors to restructure its $44.2 million debt, of which $16.2 has been paid.

"With the surge in activity in most of the country's economic sectors, we are optimistic that the company will be able to book a net profit of Rp 54.2 billion this year," Petrus said, adding that some new pieces of heavy equipment would be launched soon to benefit from the rising demand.

The new equipment, which will enter the market this year, will include the Mack Big Foot for mining purposes, Renault Kerax for forestry, and the Champion Motor Grader and Volvo Excavator for construction, he said.

He said the company sold 98 pieces of heavy equipment in 1999, about 2 percent of the domestic heavy equipment market. Intraco Penta's main competitors include PT United Tractor, PT Trakindo Utama and PT Hexindo Adiperkasa.

Petrus said the company would also open new branches in Ujung Pandang, Bandung, Lampung and Manado in a bid to boost this year's sales.

Intraco Penta, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange since 1993, is 23 percent owned by the public. (07)