Unilever Indonesia stocks see tenfold increase in 35 years

Publicly listed consumer goods giant Unilever Indonesia has seen it stock value skyrocket by more than a thousand percent over the 35 years it has been listed on the bourse.

If an investor bought 1,000 shares at our initial public offering IPO, which [at the time] were worth Rp 3,175 (24 US cents) apiece, its current investment value would be worth Rp 5 billion today, Unilever Indonesia president director Hemant Bakshi said before opening the bourse’s trading day on Wednesday.

“We truly believe that our fortune has been closely linked with the country,” he said.

Shares of Unilever Indonesia, the local arm of—Anglo-Dutch multinational company Unilever NV and Unilever Plc, opened the trading day at Rp 40,500, an increase of almost 1 percent from its previous close.

The firm’s assets stood at Rp 16.75 trillion as of September last year compared to Rp 140.4 billion recorded during its initial public offering (IPO) in 1982, while sales had soared to Rp 30.1 trillion from Rp 159 billion.

“We believe we will be in the country for more than the 35 years we have reached now, doing even better and bigger business,” he said.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), the IDX’s main gauge, opened at 5,316.15 on Wednesday or 0.12 percent higher than its previous close.