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Agribusiness, mining give Astra a boost
Diversified conglomerate PT Astra Internationalâs (ASII) automotive business has experienced pressure this year, but significant growth in its agribusiness and contract mining operations have lifted the company out of a slump
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iversified conglomerate PT Astra International's (ASII) automotive business has experienced pressure this year, but significant growth in its agribusiness and contract mining operations have lifted the company out of a slump.
The publicly listed conglomerate saw a 6 percent increase in its consolidated net revenue to Rp 150.6 trillion (US$12.4 billion) in the January-September period this year, from Rp 141.8 trillion during the same period last year, according to a press release made available on Thursday.
The group's net profit rose 8 percent to Rp 14.5 trillion in the first nine months of the year from Rp 13.5 trillion year-on-year (y-o-y).
Astra International president director Prijono Sugiarto said in a statement that he aimed to maintain the growth rate until the end of this year.
'The group's earnings were satisfactory despite being affected by heightened competition in the car market and lower coal prices. We expect the group's trade performance to remain little changed for the remainder of the year,' he said.
Astra International currently operates six business segments: automotive, financial services, heavy equipment and mining, agribusiness, infrastructure, logistics and others, and information technology.
Out of the six segments, automotive and logistics saw declining net profits of 14 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
The automotive segment's net profit declined 14.5 percent to Rp 5.9 trillion in the January-September period this year from Rp 6.9 trillion y-o-y.
Astra International's wholesale car sales slid 1 percent, while its wholesale motorcycle sales rose 9 percent during the nine-month period.
As of August this year, Astra International gained 52 percent in market share of a total of 830,398 cars sold nationwide.
The group's logistics segment slumped to Rp 252 billion during the January-September period from Rp 339 billion during the same period last year.
The downward performance in the automotive and logistic segments, however, could be offset by significant growth recorded by the group's agribusiness and contract mining segments.
The agribusiness segment's net profit grew 107 percent during the first nine months of the year to Rp 1.5 trillion from Rp 726 billion in the same period last year. Astra International owns publicly listed Astra Agro Lestari.
The rising net profit was partly due to a 24 percent increase in average crude palm oil (CPO) price, hitting Rp 8,474 per kilogram. The rising price compensated the firm's decreasing CPO sales.
Net profits of the firm's heavy equipment and mining operations, notably from publicly listed United Tractors, surged 40 percent Rp 2.9 trillion in the first nine months the year from Rp 2.08 trillion y-o-y.
Astra International's shares, which are traded on the bourse under the code ASII, jumped 0.36 percent to Rp 6,900 at Thursday's close, down from Rp 6,875 the previous day. The stocks have gained 1.5 percent so far this year, easily underperforming the broader Jakarta Composite Index's (JCI) 18.36 percent advance.
