Matahari Department Store Profit Rises on Robust Sales

Net income at Matahari Department Store, Indonesia’s biggest department store chain, rose by half in the first quarter, on the back of  robust sales growth.

The company booked Rp 185 billion in profit in the January-March period, up 50 percent from Rp 123 billion in the same quarter last year, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Matahari’s same-store sales rose 5.4 percent, reflecting “the resilience of the company’s target middle income segment despite a broader slowdown in consumer activities” in the first quarter.

Matahari’s gross sales reached Rp 2.9 trillion, up 7.6 percent from Rp 2.7 trillion.

The company opened four new stores since the start of this year, bringing the total to 134.

“We are cautiously optimistic in terms of our sales outlook for the balance of the year and are  particularly encouraged by the faster pace of the store openings we are seeing in 2015,” said Michael Remsen, chief executive and vice presidentdirector of the company, said.