Unilever Indonesia profit rises 11%

Unilever Indonesia profit rises 11%

JAKARTA: PT Unilever Indonesia, the local unit of the world's biggest consumer goods maker Unilever NV, said profit in the first nine months this year rose 11 percent as the company reduced costs and sold more shampoo and detergent.

Net income rose to Rp 1.1 trillion (US$121 million), or Rp 143 a share, from Rp 988.6 billion, or Rp 130, the Jakarta-based company said in a statement. Sales of products including Lux soap and Pepsodent toothpaste rose to Rp 6.60 trillion from Rp 6.13 trillion a year earlier.

Unilever Indonesia, 85 percent owned by Rotterdam- and London- based Unilever, is counting on a growing economy to help sales in the country of 235 million people, where it is facing more competition from Procter & Gamble Co. and Wings Group, a local maker of goods ranging from detergents to instant noodles. -- Bloomberg