Indonesia: Cigarette makers blame costs for lower profits

Cigarette manufacturers in Indonesia blamed higher production costs and currency fluctuations for the slow-down in their business throughout 2012.

Revenues at PT Gudang Garam increased by 17.1 percent to reach IDR49.03 trillion ($5 billion). However, their spending also increased, jumping 25.6 percent to IDR39.84 trillion. The higher spending and losses from currency fluctuations ultimately saw the company book IDR4.01 trillion in net profits in 2012, an 18 percent decline from the previous year, according to a story in the The
Jakarta Post.

Another cigarette maker, PT Bentoel Internasional Investama announced that its revenues fell slightly by 2.2 percent to IDR9.85 trillion. Along with Gudang Garam, it also posted higher costs of goods sold (COGS) last year, which were up 5.5 percent to IDR8.18 trillion.

Bentoel said that it suffered IDR323.35 billion in net losses, compared to IDR306 billion in net profits in 2011. In a statement submitted to the Indonesia Stock Exchange, it attributed the net losses to the significant increase in the clove price. At the same time, it added, sales dropped as a result of higher excise duties.

Meanwhile, PT HM Sampoerna reported a 26 percent rise in revenues to IDR66.63 trillion in 2012, as a result of higher sales. Last year, it managed to sell up to 107.7 billion cigarettes, a rise of 17.4 percent from 2011.

Sampoerna’s COGS were up by almost 28 percent to IDR48.12 trillion and its net profits surged 23.3 percent to IDR9.94 trillion in 2012. The increased COGS pushed the company’s net profits-to-revenue margin down to 14.9 percent from the previous 15.3 percent in 2011.

Separately, PT Wismilak Inti Makmur reported that its revenues climbed 20.9 percent to IDR1.12 trillion from 2011, thanks to higher sales, which grew 11 percent to 2 billion cigarettes. With higher sales, the company also reported a surge in its COGS, which increased 22.6 percent to IDR814.42 billion.

However, despite recording positive growth in revenue, Wismilak suffered from lower net profits in 2012, which slumped 40.3 percent to IDR77.2 billion.

This year the government plans to increase excise duty by 8.5 percent.

According to Trust Securities analyst Reza Priyambada, overall, the cigarette makers faced similar problems throughout 2012 with increasing raw material prices and higher excise. “It was like they were ‘attacked’ from the top and from the bottom,” he said.