Indonesia’s Astra Q1 net profit rises 8pc
Toyota’s Rush cars line up for loading into a carrier ship ahead of export to Malaysia, at a pier in Tanjung Priuk in this file photo of Jakarta, May 5, 2009. Astra International, Indonesia’s main vehicle distributor and biggest listed company, said today its first quarter 2012 net profit rose 8 per cent. – Reuters picJAKARTA, April 25 – Astra International, Indonesia’s main vehicle distributor and biggest listed company, said today its first quarter 2012 net profit rose 8 per cent, driven by higher car sales and coal prices.
Astra, controlled by Singapore’s Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd, reported first quarter net profit of 4.65 trillion rupiah (RM1.55 billion), compared with a net profit of 4.3 trillion rupiah a year earlier.
Analysts forecast full year 2012 net profit up 9 per cent to 19.4 trillion rupiah, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Domestic car sales in Southeast Asia’s largest economy are expected to hit a new record high in 2012, up 4 per cent, but growth will be slower than the 17 per cent gain seen in 2011.
Indonesia’s economy is expected to grow at over 6 per cent this year, after sealing the highest full-year growth in 15 years in 2011, an example of Asia’s resilience in the face of Europe’s debt crisis.
Astra shares closed down 0.7 per cent today ahead of the result, having held steady in the first quarter to underperform the broader Jakarta market’s 7.8 per cent rise. – Reuters
