INDONESIA-BASED Jardine Cycle & Carriage (Jardine C&C) said yesterday its net profit in the first half of the year rose 56 per cent to US$153.5 million (S$231 million) on a continued recovery of the Indonesian car market.

The company said its net profit in the first six months of the year received a big lift from its second-quarter earnings, which nearly doubled to US75.8 million.

Jardine C&C also reported that revenues rose 27 per cent to US$2.2 billion in the second quarter and were up by 17 per cent to US$4.1 billion in the first half.

It reported that vehicle sales in Indonesia rose 32 per cent to 197,300 units in the first six months, after falling by about 40 per cent a year earlier because of weak spending after the Thai government raised fuel prices in late-2005.

The recovery had a profound impact on Jardine C&C subsidiary Astra International, which saw net profit rise to 2.63 trillion rupiah (S$436.6 million) in the January-June period from 1.86 trillion rupiah a year earlier.

Profits from the Singapore car market, meanwhile, rose 24 per cent to US$14.6 million at half-time.

Jardine C&C's earnings per share rose from 11.34 US cents to 22.12 US cents in the the second quarter and from 29.28 US cents to 44.79 US cents in the first half. Net asset value per share stood at US$5.84 at half-time from
US$5.56 a year earlier.

Its consolidated net debt stood at US$336 million, some US$264 million lower as at the end of last year on the back of stronger cash flows.

Directors are declaring an interim dividend of 11 US cents per share, up sharply from 3 US cents previously.

They expect the "encouraging" performance to continue in the second half.