T

he recent Islamic celebration of Idul Fitri spread blessings nationwide, including to Unilever Indonesia, which saw sales jump significantly during the period.

The local arm of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever NV and PLC stated that sales during Ramadhan in June and July contributed to an overall improvement of its sales in the first semester this year.

Its first-half financial report showed that the firm booked a 10 percent increase in net sales to Rp 20.7 trillion from Rp 18.8 trillion in the same period in 2015. Net profit also jumped by 10.3 percent to Rp 3.2 trillion from Rp 2.9 trillion.

That compares with sales and annual profit growth last year of 7.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, amid domestic economic slowdown.

Unilever Indonesia corporate secretary Sancoyo Antarikso said this year’s first-half recovery could be attributed to more creative marketing efforts during the fasting month and Idul Fitri, when prices normally peak due to a spike in demand in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

“We see the progress as a result from our innovation and integrated activities in the first semester that are well accepted by the public. Last year during Ramadhan, we focused on advertising food and refreshment products only, but now we also focus on personal and home care products,” he said over the phone.

Unilever Indonesia launched 1001inspirasiramadhan.com to engage with consumers during the festive period. The website provides tips on fashion, meals and prayers suitable for the month, while also promoting Unilever’s products, ranging from Bango sweet soy sauce to Sariwangi tea, Dove and Lifebuoy soap and shampoo, to dish soap Sunlight.

The 83-year-old firm went all out by helping small shops at major markets to redecorate their premises with Unilever attributes, as part of advertising efforts.

Unilever Indonesia declined to unveil its sales outlook and target until year-end. “We cannot know if public spending power will remain this strong in the third and fourth quarters,” Sancoyo said.

The firm has allocated Rp 2 trillion in capital expenditure this year, Rp 1.4 trillion of which will add to production and distribution capacity, while the remaining Rp 600 billion will be used to complete a new office building in BSD City, South Tangerang, Banten, projected to open in the fourth quarter.

The firm boasts 99 percent locally made consumer goods, with 39 brands in the food, personal and home care segments, produced at nine factories across Cikarang, West Java, and Rungkut, East Java.

Sancoyo said around Rp 700 billion has been absorbed to date. Most of the capital expenditure came from internal cash.

NH Korindo Securities head of research Reza Priyambada said domestic spending had recovered relatively well compared to last year, though it was not yet at full speed.

“Domestic spending in upcoming quarters may not be as strong as in the second quarter, but overall it has recovered this year. It is already good enough if the consumer goods industry can grow by 9 to 10 percent by year-end,” he said. The firm saw a 5.7 percent sales increase and 2 percent profit increase last year.

Shares in Unilever Indonesia traded at Rp 47,800 apiece on Thursday, up 2.58 percent a day following the financial announcement. The stocks have surged 30.5 percent so far this year, easily outstripping the broader benchmark Jakarta Composite Index’s (JCI) 15.4 percent gain.

—JP/Stefani Ribka