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ublicly listed PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, run by one of the country's richest tycoons Anthoni Salim, suffered a decline in its net profits in the first quarter of Q1 this year on the back of a slowdown in the country's plantation business.

Indofood booked Rp 722.37 billion (US$75.25 million) in the January-March period, a 11.4 percent decline compared to Rp 815.03 billion in the same period, last year.

 The company's total revenue rose 8.7 percent to Rp 12.86 trillion during January to March period of the year from Rp 11.83 trillion.

Anthoni, who is Indofood's president director and CEO, attributed the decline in net profit to setbacks faced by agribusiness units due to of declining crude palm oil (CPO) and rubber prices as well as higher expenses.

'Growing performances of consumer brand products and Bogasari as well as our participation in China Minzhong Food Corp. Ltd. (CMFC) has helped to reduce the effect of declining agribusiness group,' Anthoni said in a written statement.

The company recently anounced that it had purchased a number of stake in CMFC, a leading integrated vegetable processor in China with cultivation, processing and sales capabilities.

Indofood now operates four business lines, consisting of a consumer brand group, wheat flour and pasta unit Bogasari, an agribusiness line headed by 58.3 percent owned subsidiary Indofood Agri Resources and a distribution line.

Singapore listed Indofood Agri owns a 72 percent stake in Jakarta listed plantation company PT Salim Ivomas Pratama, which holds a 59.48 percent stake in another listed firm PT PP London Sumatra Indonesia. Indofood itself holds a direct 6.4 percent stake in Salim Ivomas.

Salim Ivomas reported 76 percent drop in net profits in Q1 this year to Rp 99. 8 billion. Meanwhile, PPT London Sumatra saw 66 percent plunge in net profits to Rp 100.52 billion in the first quarter of the year compared to a year earlier.

The overall agribusiness group saw a declining total sales by 3 percent as higher sales volume failed to balance the plunging selling prices. The agribusiness group was the only unit reporting declines in the first quarter as other units see rising sales.

Consumer brand product line, consisting of instant noodle division, dairy, snack, food seasonings as well as a nutrition and special foods division, reported 10.9 percent increase in total sales value.

Indofood's 80.5 percent owned subsidiary PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur (ICBP) reported Rp 643.8 billion in net profits in the first quarter of the year, increasing by 8.9 percent compared to Rp 593.2 billion. The increase was supported by 14.6 percent up in total sales to Rp 6.06 trillion during January to March period of the year from Rp 5.29 trillion year on year.

ICBP said that the biggest contributor to its total sales was instant noodle division with 69 percent of total sales. ICBP currently has a number of products, including prominent noodle brands of Indomie, snack foods such as Chitato, dairy products such as Indomilk, food seasonings such as Sambal Indofood, as well as nutritional supplements and special foods products including Promina and SUN.

Bogasari group reported increasing sales calue by 13.3 percent while distribution line saw 10.4 percent growth.