Sampoerna posts higher net sales

Sampoerna posts higher net sales

JAKARTA: Indonesia's second largest cigarette maker, PT HM
Sampoerna, said on Friday its net sales rose 5.2 percent in the
second quarter to Rp 3.471 trillion (US$1=Rp 8,300) from
Rp 3.298 trillion a year earlier, despite an 8 percent decline in
sales volume.

The company didn't mention what the drove sales value higher
amid a decline in volume, but analysts said the increase was
expected after the company increased its cigarette prices late
last year.

Sampoerna said its machine-rolled A-Mild family of brands
continued to perform well as its sales volume declined only 1.3
percent while its turnover grew more than 16 percent in the three
months ended in June.

Its premium and most famous hand-rolled Dji Sam Soe cigarette
sales volume fell 7 percent during the period from last year, it
said.

Sampoerna said Indonesia's cigarette demand showed signs of
stabilizing in recent weeks, but evidence of a recovery is still
negligible.

Cigarette sales volume in the country has been declining in
the last two years after the cash-strapped government
aggressively increased excise taxes to help the state budget.
--Dow Jones