Unilever Indonesia's Net Profit Grew 9.6% in Full Year 2017
Unilever Indonesia, one of Indonesia's biggest consumer goods companies, recorded IDR 7 trillion (approx. USD $515 million) in net profit over full-year 2017, up 9.6 percent year-on-year (y/y) from net profit in the preceding year. These figures are unaudited. The audited FY-2017 corporate earnings are expected to be released toward the end of February 2018.
The company's net profit growth was supported by a 2.9 percent (y/y) increase in net sales to IDR 41.2 trillion (approx. USD $3.0 billion). Sancoyo Antarikso, Director and Corporate Secretary at Unilever Indonesia, explained that the company's earnings last year were undermined by bleak household consumption growth across Indonesia. However, he added that despite this challenging environment the company's strong strategies made the company able to adjust to the challenging environment and to safeguard solid corporate earnings.
On Monday (05/02) Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Indonesia's economic growth only reached 5.07 percent (y/y) in full-year 2017, far from the central government's 5.2 percent (y/y) growth target. Bleak household consumption growth, recorded at 4.95 percent (y/y) in FY-2017, was partly to blame for the nation's sluggish overall economic growth.
Part of the Unilever Indonesia's strategies last year was to understand the needs of the Indonesian consumer and to implement efficiency-oriented policies in all of the company's business segments.
Unilever Indonesia's corporate earnings are expected to improve in 2018. This assumption is based on expectations of strengthening household consumption in Indonesia, which is partly supported by the local elections that are scheduled for mid-2018.
Shares of Unilever Indonesia, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, fell 0.42 percent to IDR 53,900 a piece on Tuesday (06/02). This was a relatively good performance considering the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index plunged 1.69 percent amid a global selloff. So far in 2018 shares of Unilever Indonesia have fallen 3.58 percent.
Stock Quote Unilever Indonesia - UNVR:
Analysts, however, say that shares of Unilever Indonesia are currently expensive and therefore prone to profit taking as there occurs a global correction in equity markets.