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Unilever Indonesia sales down 7.5% as virus curbs bite
The consumer goods giant has attributed a significant decline in sales and profit to a challenging third quarter as virus containment measures took a toll on consumer demand.
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Publicly listed consumer goods company PT Unilever Indonesia has its headquarter in BSD, Tangerang, Banten. (File/unilever.co.id)
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T Unilever Indonesia, a major manufacturer of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), has reported a significant drop in sales after a “challenging” third quarter.
According to an unaudited third-quarter report, net sales in the first nine months of the year amounted to Rp 30.03 trillion (US$2.12 billion), down 7.5 percent from Rp 32.46 trillion in the equivalent period of 2020.
Profit, meanwhile, fell by 19.5 percent to Rp 4.38 trillion from Rp 5.44 trillion.
In a statement published on Thursday, the company’s president director, Ira Noviarti, said: “The FMCG market, again, encountered challenges in the third quarter as the second wave of the pandemic hit Indonesia, followed by the implementation of [public activity restrictions] in most parts of the nation.”
Shares of the company, which is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the ticker symbol UNVR, were valued at Rp 4,850 at the end of the morning trading session, down 3.4 percent from the previous close and down 35.1 percent year to date.
After a brief but marked improvement in the second quarter of the year, retail sales in Indonesia dropped again in July and August. The annual drop was attributed largely to activity restrictions imposed by the government to contain a spike in coronavirus cases caused by the more infectious Delta variant.
Sales have since shown signs of improvement as the government loosened curbs on travel, business and leisure activities. Bank Indonesia’s retail sales index still contracted by an estimated 1.8 percent year-on-year (yoy) in September, but the contraction was smaller than the 2.1 percent reported for August.
