Unilever sets aside $20m to expand production

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed consumer products producer PT Unilever Indonesia has allocated $20 million to expand production this year.

Company director A.A. Pranatadjaja said here on Thursday that Unilever would expand all of its factories -- five located in Cikarang, West Java, and two in Rungkut, East Java -- to meet an increase in orders from neighboring countries.

"We hope the expansion will be able to boost our exports this year," he announced after the company's annual shareholders meeting. He was reluctant to provide further details.

The company -- which produces a number of consumer products such as Sariwangi tea, Lux and Lifebuoy soap, Magnum Classic, Paddle Pop and Calippo Frost ice cream, Sunsilk shampoo and Pepsodent toothpaste -- exports some of its products to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.

Its exports accounted for 5.3 percent of the company's total sales of Rp 4.87 trillion (US$431 million) last year.

Pranatadjaja said that Unilever would also use part of the expansion funds to upgrade its computer network throughout the country's factories and branches.

"The new facilities will help reduce the company's operating costs," he added.

According to him, the company's operating costs have been on the rise due to the hike in fuel prices this year as well as the continual depreciation of the rupiah.

"Therefore, we're very cautious about projecting our target this year," he said, adding that the company would try to maintain its performance at the same level as in the first quarter.

The company's net profit surged 22 percent to Rp 303 billion between January and March from the Rp 241 billion in the same period last year.

Unilever's sales rose by 26 percent to Rp 1.48 trillion in the first three months of this year from Rp 1.17 trillion in the same period last year.

In the meeting, the shareholders approved the company's proposal to pay a final dividend of Rp 490 per share, bringing the total dividend paid by the company for the 2000 book year to Rp 690 per share.

The shareholders also endorsed the appointment of Juwono Sudarsono, a noted lecturer at the University of Indonesia and former defense minister, as an independent commissioner in the company.

Alec Lever, former marketing director for personal care at Unilever Philippines, was also appointed as the new director during the meeting, replacing David John Lewis, who retired in August last year.(05)