United expects profit up 15%

United expects profit up 15%

JAKARTA: PT United Tractors, an Indonesian mining contractor and heavy equipment manufacturer, expects both net profit and revenue to rise 15 percent next year, a company official said Tuesday.

United Tractors will rent heavy equipment next year in addition to selling them to boost net profit and revenue, president director Hagianto Komala told reporters.

The company's net profit jumped to Rp 382 billion (US$43 million) in the first 10 months of this year from Rp 170 billion a year ago, he said. Revenue in the same period rose to Rp 6.01 trillion from Rp 5.94 trillion.

Hagianto didn't provide estimates for United Tractors' full- year net profit and revenue. -- Dow Jones

Planet to emerge from bankruptcy

ORLANDO, Fla.: Restaurant chain Planet Hollywood, whose original backers included film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, said on Tuesday it expects to emerge from bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2003.

The company said it expects to emerge with its main restaurants intact, including ones in New York, London, Paris, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, after a bankruptcy court approved a reorganization plan.

Planet Hollywood has about 35 restaurants, down from more than 50 in its heyday.

The company said it would be a private, rather than a publicly traded company, in part to avoid "significant expenses" associated with reporting results to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Oct. 2001, citing a tourism slump following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. -- Reuters

Toyota aims record sales in 2003

TOKYO: Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday its group aimed for yet another year of record sales, targeting 5.79 million vehicles worldwide in 2003, up five percent from an estimate for this year.

Toyota expects continued strong demand overseas to help it achieve best-ever worldwide sales for the 11th consecutive year.

Sales abroad by the Toyota group, including models by minicar manufacturer Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd., are seen rising six percent to 4.19 million units in 2003.

Domestic sales were predicted to drive up three percent to 2.3 million vehicles, with sales of Toyota-brand cars alone growing two percent to 1.72 million units to post the first rise in three years.

Sales of new Toyota-brand cars are seen dipping two percent from 2001 to 1.69 million units this year, falling below 1.7 million for the first time in three years. -- AFP