Ace Indonesia first half net sales down

Ace Hardware Indonesia, the leading home improvement retailer in Southeast Asia's largest country, saw a fresh erosion in earnings in the first half of 2022, when net sales slipped 2.58 per cent.

The company reported net sales of 3.307 trillion Indonesian rupiah (IDR, approx. 217.4 mio euros) for January to June, weighed down by the weak showing of all its product categories. Home improvement products, its biggest money earner, made IDR 1.742 trillion, 0.8 per cent less than last year, while lifestyle products earned IDR 1.354 trillion, down 5.84 per cent. Toys rose 4.2 per cent to IDR 136.497 bn, but this was not enough to offset losses.

Ace Indonesia did not say how much it made in the second quarter, but computations based on company data show a 1.9-per cent dip in net sales during the period, to IDR 1.681 trillion.

In an analyst's note posted on online research platform Smartkarma, CrossASEAN Research founder Angus Mackintosh said Ace Indonesia's same store sales fell 5.2 per cent in the first half, but added that for June alone, these “showed some improvement”, having fallen only 8.7 per cent. In May, comparable sales contracted 12.2 per cent.

Observing that the company relies heavily on store footfall – which was adversely affected by Covid-19 – Mackintosh said Ace Indonesia would gain from the return of mobility. He added plans to add 15 new outlets this year “should also help drive the topline”.

The company, which was recently awarded Indonesia's Best Managed Company for retail by Deloitte, is part of the Kawan Lama group. It was operating 221 outlets in end-June.

- by Jennee Grace U Rubrico