Ramayana cuts profit target

Ramayana cuts profit target

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA): PT Ramayana Lestari Sentosa Tbk has scaled down its net profit estimate for next year to Rp 311 billion from the original Rp 337. 5 billion as it continues to reduce prices of its products to boost sales, chief executive officer Koh Boon Kim said.

The company also sees sales of Rp 2.8 trillion next year, lower than its previous forecast of Rp 3.0 trillion, he added.

This year, it expects net profit to rise to Rp 259.1 billion from Rp 208.7 billion in 1999, with sales rising to Rp 2.3 trillion from Rp 1.654 trillion, Koh said.

"We're making our prices as affordable as possible... We want to recover volume with lower pricing," he said in his speech before HSBC's Asian 100 conference.

In the first half, net profit rose to Rp 119.102 billion from Rp 117.724 billion a year earlier. Sales grew to Rp 675.609 billion from Rp 673.082 billion.

Despite the difficult business environment in Indonesia, Koh said management remains optimistic sales will grow 25-30 percent annually as it continues to expand its store network.