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Kalbe Farma records healthy growth in 2013
The countryâs largest drug maker by assets, PT Kalbe Farma, recorded healthy growth last year despite the weakening of the rupiah, which hit the pharmaceutical industry hard, as it booked a 17
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he country's largest drug maker by assets, PT Kalbe Farma, recorded healthy growth last year despite the weakening of the rupiah, which hit the pharmaceutical industry hard, as it booked a 17.4 percent year-on-year rise in revenue.
Vidjongtius, Kalbe's finance director and corporate secretary, said Wednesday that the company generated Rp 16.01 trillion (US$1.32 billion) in unaudited revenue last year, a 17.4 percent increase compared to Rp 13.64 trillion the previous year.
The company booked Rp 1.91 trillion in net profits in 2013, up by 10.6 percent compared to Rp 1.73 trillion in 2012.
'Based on the unaudited financial statement, Kalbe booked a positive performance in 2013 with healthy top-line growth, in line with our target,' he said.
'Despite Indonesia's subdued growth, we are pleased to report that the company recorded solid growth, supported by healthy consumption volume.'
Vidjongtius said gross profits grew by 17.5 percent compared to 2012, while its gross profit margin remained stable at 47.9 percent.
Operating profits grew by 14.6 percent, while its operating profit margin decreased to 15.9 percent in 2013 from 16.3 percent in 2012.
Vidjongtius said the lower net profit growth compared to operating costs was due to the rupiah depreciation that had put pressure on the margins, adding that the company had tried to stabilize things through its pricing policy and product management.
He said the 'significant rupiah depreciation [...] from 9,670 per US dollar on Dec. 31, 2012, to 12,189 per dollar on Dec. 31, 2013, had adversely affected foreign exchanges, in contrast to the foreign exchange gain booked in 2012'.
The Indonesian Pharmaceutical Association (GPFI) said recently that the rupiah had played a part in squeezing drugmakers' margins, given the fact that 90 to 96 percent of the industry's raw materials were imported.
According to Kalbe's financial report for the first nine months of 2013, distribution and logistics accounted for 35 percent of the company's sales of Rp 11.44 trillion, followed by prescribed drugs with 25 percent, its nutritional division with 24 percent and consumer health division with 16 percent.
According to Vidjongtius, its prescription pharmaceuticals division recorded strong sales growth of 17.7 percent last year, mostly driven by volume growth.
The firm's consumer health division also recorded steady growth of 16.6 percent. Sales growth was supported by volume growth of over-the-counter drugs, Extra Joss energy drinks and ready-to-drink products.
Its nutritional division booked strong sales growth of 25.9 percent, tapping into the increasing popularity of dairy-based drinks among the country's growing middle class. The company is currently constructing a nutritional drink production facility, which is expected to be completed in 2015.
Kalbe's distribution and logistics division, meanwhile, recorded sales growth of 12.6 percent in 2013.
This year, Kalbe is aiming to increase its sales and profits by 16 percent, with an operating profit margin within the range of 16 to 17 percent ' supported by the government's universal health insurance program, which came into effect on Jan. 1.
