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ublicly listed state construction firm Pembangunan Perumahan (PP) saw its revenues and net profits grow in the first half of this year, with its property unit poised to further accelerate growth amid sluggish activity within the construction industry.

PP booked a 13.5 percent increase in revenues to Rp 5.22 trillion in the first half of this year from Rp 4.6 trillion in the same period a year ago. The company booked a 10 percent growth in revenues in 2014 over the same period in 2013.

Net profits grew by around 9 percent to Rp 160.78 billion in the Jan.-June period this year from Rp 147.08 billion a year ago. That compared favorably with a 2 percent increase in net profits in the first half of last year.

As at the end of July, the company reaped Rp 44.14 trillion worth of contracts, comprising Rp 15.14 trillion of new contracts and Rp 29 trillion of carry-overs.

'€œWe are still optimistic about achieving Rp 27 trillion worth of new contracts this year, given that as of July we met 56 percent of the targeted contracts,'€ PP president director Bambang Triwibowo said.

The company is working on several projects including a 120 megawatt power plant in Gorontalo worth Rp 1.6 trillion; the Mandala city-reclamation project in Makassar, South Sulawesi, worth Rp 2.5 trillion; Kali Tanjung port in North Sumatra worth Rp 898 billion; the Superblock St. Moritz development in Makassar worth Rp 524 billion and the Surakarta-Kertosono toll road in Central Java worth Rp 417 billion.

'€œAll in all, the result is pretty much in line with first half seasonality. We still believe the construction segment revenues should start to flow in [the second half of this year], in accordance with the government'€™s timely disbursement of funds,'€ Joko Sogie from Danareksa said in a report.

PP stood out in comparison with other state-run construction firms '€” which mostly fell short of achieving half of their yearly target so far '€” thanks especially to its property unit, according to Joko.

'€œPP'€™s revenues grew 13 percent that, in our view, were largely driven by the growth in PP Properti'€™s revenues, since the core construction business still awaited the disbursement of funds, especially from government projects,'€ he said.

PP'€™s property subsidiary PP Properti, which recently made its public debut on the stock exchange, saw its bottom line go up nearly ten times in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in the previous year.

PP Properti booked Rp 142.91 billion in net profit during the period, up significantly compared with Rp 15.4 billion last year, as revenues skyrocketed to Rp 700.83 billion from Rp 117.09 billion in the first half of 2014.

'€œPP Properti (PPRO) continued to make a significant contribution, as seen in PP'€™s higher gross margin, even though construction revenues slightly lagged behind our expectations,'€ Joko said.

The company, according to a press statement, is developing a number of projects including Grand Kemala Lagoon in Bekasi, West Java as well as Grand Sungkono Lagoon and Grand Dharmahusada Lagoon in Surabaya, East Java. The Grand Lagoon projects are mixed-use properties comprising commercial and residential areas.

PP Properti made its public debut in May, floating 35 percent of its increased capital to pocket Rp 908.78 billion of fresh funds.