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Unilever net profit drops 16% as FMCG demand slumps
Consumer goods giant PT Unilever Indonesia saw its net profit contract in the second quarter as COVID-19 continues to hamper fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market growth.
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A sales assistant holds Unilever products, Fair and Lovely skin fairness cream and Dove shampoo at a shop in New Delhi on April 30, 2013. (AFP/Sajjad Hussain)
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onsumer goods giant PT Unilever Indonesia saw its net profit contract in the first half of this year as the COVID-19 pandemic hampered domestic demand for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
The publicly listed company’s net profit dropped 15.85 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 3.04 trillion (US$210 million) in the January-June period, while its sales dropped 7.33 percent yoy to Rp 20.17 trillion over the same period, its latest financial report shows.
"The growth of the FMCG market has not fully recovered due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic that drives consumers to remain cautious in choosing consumption patterns in several basic categories,” Unilever president director Ira Noviarti said in a statement on Thursday.
“This condition was also compounded with the increase in commodity prices which began to affect product costs,” Ira added.
Read also: Inflation overshadows Unilever’s strong first half, hits shares
The government enacted micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro) throughout the Jan-June period this year that were looser than the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) introduced last year.
As a result, Indonesia’s consumer confidence index (IKK) rose to an optimistic 107.4 in June, the highest level since April last year, but it remains below 2019 levels, the latest Bank Indonesia data show. A figure above 100 indicates optimism and below 100 indicates pessimism.
