Berlina eyes profit after last year's loss

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Publicly listed plastic packaging company PT Berlina expects to return to the black this year following a loss last year, eying a full-year net profit of Rp 12.14 billion (around US$1.3 million), the company's president director says.

Antonius Rudy Sugiarto told a media conference Wednesday that the net profit was due mainly to a 24 percent increase in estimated net revenue this year to Rp 379.89 billion from Rp 306 billion last year.

"We will continue to push the sales of our profitable products, such as packaging for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in the years to come.

"Besides that, we're also planning to make investments and acquisitions in collaboration with Japanese and German investors in the next couple of years," he said, refusing to elaborate further as the matters were still under discussion.

Starting next year, Rudy said the company would also start exporting technology products such as molding and capping machines. "Making investment in technological development is more promising than pursuing a larger market share (for existing products)."

Berlina, which is 51.42 percent owned by PT Dwi Satrya Utama, 23.34 percent by company affiliates and 25.24 percent by the investing public, operates three factories in Pandaan, East Java, in Cikarang, West Java, and in Tangerang, Banten.

The company's domestic clients include Unilever, Danone, Kao, Sara Lee, Mandom, Orang Tua Group, Penzoil, Sosro and Mustika Ratu, while it exports to Japan, the Southeast Asian countries, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

It has two subsidiaries -- PT Hefei Paragon Plastic Packaging, which has a plastic packaging factory in China, and PT Lamipak Primula Indonesia, which has tube factories in Sidoarjo, East Java, and in Cikarang, West Java.