WOM books 143% profit rise in H1

Novia D. Rulistia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 07/22/2008 10:14 AM  |  Business

Top financing company PT Wahana Ottomitra Multiartha (WOM) Multifinance reported a 143 percent first semester net profit rise from a year earlier on the back of stronger demand for motorcycles.

The firm is the financing arm of Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII), which is controlled by Malaysian-based Maybank.

The company's net profit surged to Rp 21.99 billion (US$2.4 million) in the first six months of the year, from Rp 9.03 billion in the same period in 2007.

Corporate secretary Fenfira Tedja said the company during the period financed the purchases of 250,239 motorcycles, a 32 percent increase from the 189,425 units paid for in the previous year's period.

Of the total, 180,002 units were new and the remaining 70,237 were used, she said.

"WOM financed Rp 2.57 trillion in the January-June period, up from Rp 1.91 trillion paid in the same period last year."

The increase pushed up the company's revenue in the first semester 10 percent to Rp 510.73 billion, from Rp 462.69 billion recorded at the same time last year.

For this year, the company aims to finance 525,000 motorcycles, including 75 percent new.

"We are allocating Rp 5.5 trillion for financing this year, up from Rp 4.7 trillion last year," president director Suwandi Wiranto said.

Of the amount, 75 percent will come from BII in the form of joint financing, and the remainder in loans from other banks.

WOM plans to expand its business outside Java to 40 percent this year, citing those areas as having business potential, after last year conducting only 25 percent of its business outside of the island.

Suwandi said WOM had made adjustments to avoid similar losses to those suffered in 2007, when the company complied with a new regulation issued by Bank Indonesia on consolidated risk.

The company will have fully recovered from the adaption by 2009, he added.

The company ranks third in the industry by assets.

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