MPMX, Owned By Edwin Soeryadjaya And Sandiaga Uno Conglomerate, Profit Plummets 71 Percent

JAKARTA - The automotive industry is one of the sectors hit in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all sales slumped to their lowest level in years due to the uncertainty of the situation.

In such conditions, PT Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Tbk (MPMX), an automotive and transportation consumer company owned by PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk, also experienced a decrease in performance. The company's consolidated revenue throughout 2020 stood at Rp11.2 trillion, a decrease of 32.5 percent.

MPMX's net profit was recorded at Rp133.6 billion in 2020. This figure is down drastically 71.4 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

MPMX Group Chief Executive Officer Suwito Mawarwati explained that MPMX's performance showed gradual improvement since the third quarter of 2020 in line with the upward trend in motorcycle sales. In addition, he said, influenced by the start of the reopening of industrial and business activities that had stopped temporarily since March 2020 to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Fourth-quarter performance was also solid. He explained that net profit in the last quarter of last year increased by Rp45.8 billion compared to the third quarter of 2020, despite the second wave of COVID-19 cases and social restrictions that Indonesia still experienced until the fourth quarter.

"MPMInsurance proved to be the most resilient by successfully maintaining a healthy performance with gross premium income growing by 2.7 percent in 2020 compared to the same period last year, with recorded revenues increasing 17.8 percent compared to 2019," Suwito said in a written statement quoted Monday, April 12.

As for the transportation segment, revenue from vehicle rentals, MPMRent recorded a decrease of 11.5 percent compared to the same period last year. In the distribution, retail and aftermarket segments, MPMulia, the market leader in motorcycle distribution in East Java and NTT, recorded sales of 555 thousand units in 2020, down by 39.2 percent from the same period last year.

The association entity JACCS MPMFinance Indonesia recorded a non-performing loan ratio of more than 90 days of 2.9 percent due to the increasing number of debtors who had difficulty paying credit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"2020 is a remarkable year with market developments dominated by challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of these conditions, I am grateful for the speed and dedication of the MPMX team and its subsidiaries with their best actions in mitigation efforts," he added.

To ensure the sustainability of MPMX, it also continues to strengthen revenue generation capabilities by staying agile and flexible as it strives to take advantage of all opportunities, acting quickly and decisively in a rapidly changing environment.

Going forward, MPMX will continue to implement several strategies in which the company will continue to carry out cost leadership and strengthen digital capabilities to improve its offerings and operational resilience.

"Of course, we also continue to support the government's efforts in alleviating the COVID-19 pandemic, and hope that the ongoing vaccination program can accelerate the completion of the pandemic and economic recovery," he concluded.

MPMX is currently owned by Saratoga with a 52.21 percent shareholding. Saratoga itself is controlled by two tycoons, Edwin Soeryadjaya and Sandiaga Uno.