Publicly listed retailer PT Hero Supermarket (HERO) is reporting a 29.7 percent increase in net profits in the first half of 2012. The company expects further growth after it obtained a license to open several IKEA furniture stores in Indonesia in 2014.
HERO reported a profit of Rp 139.67 billion (US$14.8 million) in the first six months of the year, a solid increase compared to Rp 107.65 billion in the same period last year. According to the report, the company attributed the growth to higher sales and improved store productivity.
HERO has said that it opened 42 new stores, including Giant hypermarkets, in the first six months of the year.
Currently, HERO also owns Hero and Giant branded supermarkets as well as the Guardian health and beauty chain and the Starmart convenience store chain.
The company has said that it expected further growth in business after it obtained a license to open several IKEA furniture stores in Indonesia in 2014.
IKEA, a Swedish-based global retailer, offers inexpensive and stylish ready-to-assemble furniture products at destination megastores that offer inexpensive portions of Scandinavian cuisine, such as Swedish meatballs.
HERO is currently 94.28 percent owned by the Mulgrave Corporation BV, which is owned by Dairy Farm International Ltd, a retailer with a legal base in Bermuda and a listing on the London Stock Exchange. Mulgrave also has secondary listings on the Singapore and Bermuda Stock Exchanges.
