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obile phone distributor PT Trikomsel Oke says it is aiming for a 15 percent revenue and profit increase this year by rolling out new business strategies, including providing consumers with credit to own gadgets.

Juliana Samudro, spokeswoman for Trikomsel, said the company wanted to maintain the growth level booked last year.

'We are aiming for a minimum 15 percent revenue growth, and we are targeting a similar profit increase,' Juliana said.

Based on the firm's annual report, the company's net revenue was up 8.3 percent year-on-year to Rp 9.5 trillion (US$978.5 million) at the end of 2012, while net income was up 21.1 percent to Rp 367 billion and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 20.5 percent to Rp 834 billion.

Juliana added that prepaid phone credit sales contributed 29 percent to revenue, with 71 percent coming from mobile phones. 'This year, we forecast that the composition will remain similar.'

She said that this year the distributor aimed to collaborate with mobile phone operators and financing companies to provide consumers with credit for the purchase of mobile phones. 'Hopefully, this would pull up our sales.'

Sugiono Wiyono Sugialam, president director of Trikomsel, added that the company would set aside $10 million for capital expenditures this year. 'Most of this capital expenditure will go to our shops,' Sugiono said.

He added that the company sought to expand the number of its distribution centers to 50 from around 40. 'We are going to establish new centers in Java and Sumatra, among other places.'

The company is also looking to add 128 new retail stores.

Sugiono said that this year, the company would maintain its strong focus on distributing smartphones. 'Smartphones will be a big trend. More than 50 percent of our products are smartphones.'

He added that the company planned to form partnerships with new brands this year, especially with those whose products targeted middle- to low-income consumers to whom the company wanted to cater.

The company currently principally distributes smartphones from middle- to upper-segment brands, such as Lenovo and HTC.

'We are eyeing domestic brands to capture the middle-low market segment,' he said.

'The Indonesian market is very receptive to smartphones because the need to access the Internet has become a social habit,' Sugiono said.

Besides distributing phones to retailers, the company runs its own retailers, such as OkeShop and Global Teleshop.