By Yi Wei Wong


Astra International's shares rose sharply in early trade Tuesday after it reported that its 2022 earnings rose due to the strength of its automotive and coal mining businesses.

Astra's shares rose as much as 8.2% to 6,275 Indonesian following the release of its earnings late on Monday.

Shares were last 6.0% higher at IDR6,125.

The Indonesian conglomerate reported that its 2022 net profit rose 43% to 28.944 trillion rupiah ($1.90 billion).

In a note, Citi analysts Ferry Wong and Ryan Davis said that Astra's net profit had beat the U.S. bank's estimates, although it was slightly below consensus estimates due to an unrealized loss of about IDR1.54 trillion from its investments in GoTo Gojek Tokopedia and Hermina.

If that loss hadn't been included in 2022's numbers, Astra's net profit would have been in line with consensus estimates, the analysts say.

A bright spot in Astra's earnings was the performance of its construction and mining subsidiary United Tractors, which benefited from record-high coal prices in 2022.

While Citi expects commodity prices to cool this year, the analysts like United Tractors' net cash position of over IDR30 trillion, which will give the mining company a "pole position to expand inorganically."

The U.S. investment bank has a buy rating and target price of IDR7,000 on Astra's shares.


Write to Yi Wei Wong at yiwei.wong@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-27-23 2214ET