Indonesia :: One and Only

Source: Reuters

Jakarta, July 25 – Indonesia’s largest listed plantation company, PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk, said on Friday its first-half net profit rose 134 percent from a year ago, supported by strong palm oil sales.

The firm, controlled by Indonesia’s top automotive distributor, PT Astra International Tbk, had previously reported a 20 percent increase in its crude palm oil (CPO) sales volume in the first half, paired with 58.9 percent rise in the average CPO price.

Astra Agro, which has a market capitalisation of nearly $3.5 billion, said in a statement that its January-June net profit climbed to 1.59 trillion rupiah ($174.3 million) from 682.5 billion a year ago.

Sales revenue rose 94.1 percent to 4.64 trillion rupiah.

Like many palm oil plantation companies in the region, Astra Agro is riding a boom in global palm oil due to demand from the biofuel industry and fast-growing China and India.

Palm oil–used in products from soaps to biodiesel– rallied to an all time high of 4,486 ringgit a tonne in March, although have since fallen back 31.5 percent.

Indonesia has overtaken Malaysia as the world’s top palm oil producer. It is expected to produce 18.4 mi

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