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Astra International profit falls in H1 as car sales weaken, CPO price tumbles
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Astra International president director Prijono Sugiarto (right) poses for a picture with Lily Soeryadjaya, the wife of the founder of Astra International, in front of an image of Lily’s husband William Soeryadjaya at the company’s headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday. The diversified conglomerate opened its Menara Astra (Astra Tower) building to commemorate its 62nd anniversary. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak)
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lumping car sales and a declining crude palm oil (CPO) price have taken a toll on diversified conglomerate PT Astra International, which saw its net income decline in the first half of the year.
In the January to June period, Astra’s profit declined 6 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 9.8 trillion (US$698.64 million). The decline stood in stark contrast to the company’s profit growth of 4.72 percent in the first quarter of this year.
“Slumping domestic consumption and declining commodity prices have affected our performance in the first half of this year,” Astra president director Prijono Sugiarto said in a statement circulated on Tuesday.
Profit in the publicly listed company’s automotive business plunged 18 percent in the first half, largely due to slowing car sales, which were down 6 percent during the period. Astra's market share in the domestic car market fell to 45 percent in June, the lowest level in years, amid rising sales of its competitors, Mitsubishi and Isuzu.
Its car sales shed 1.2 percent yoy in June, which compares to a 1.2 percent increase in overall national sales, Gaikindo data show.
Meanwhile, the falling CPO price since the beginning of this year caused profit in Astra’s agribusiness division to nosedive 94 percent yoy in this year's first six months.
However, the conglomerate still booked an overall 3-percent yoy increase in revenue to Rp 116.18 trillion, thanks to growth in its heavy equipment, construction, energy and financial services businesses.
Profit in the conglomerate’s financial services business rose 32 percent yoy to Rp 2.8 trillion, as nonperforming loans in subsidiary Bank Permata improved while credit provision losses dropped and its financing portfolio grew in the January to June period.
Profit in its machinery, mining, construction and energy business line from its subsidiary PT United Tractors grew by 2 percent. (prm)
