Sales Growth

In 2003 Limas recorded revenues of IDR 41.5 billion an increase of 443 percent. This remarkable growth can be attributed to our continuous efforts to broaden our market base through innovative products. The progress made by the Jakarta Stock Exchange towards a paperless and floorless exchange has served to increase demand for our ASP service and generated interest from a number of local and foreign owned brokerage firms. This has in turn boosted our ASP earnings by 50 percent over the previous year. Also during the report period we witnessed a healthy growth in StockWatch® subscriptions as our retail and mobile trading solutions become increasingly popular on account of their flexibility and accuracy.

 

Limiting Foreign Currency Exposure & Liability

Early efforts made by management to renegotiate terms with our vendors as related to foreign currency exposure have served to limit foreign currency liabilities and losses from the fluctuation of exchange rates. In 2003 direct cost decreased by 46.79 percent and positively impacted net sales. In addition, we recorded an increase in gross profit of 848.12 percent within the fiscal year.

 

Daily Operation Management

In the years since the establishment of Limas, we have managed our operating expenses well with amortization and depreciation of assets being the major contributor towards operating expenses followed by staff salaries and rental costs. As we consider human capital to be our single most valuable asset, we fully support the decree of the Minister of Manpower concerning the settlement of labor dismissal, stipulation of severance pay, gratuity and compensation. Limas has begun to set up the stipulated Employee Pension Benefits and Warrant Compensation Fund in addition to the Employee Stock Option Program already in place since 2002.

With the aim of maintaining positive performance and returns, the management of Limas recognizes its responsibility to favorably manage the company’s cash flow. In 2003, sound investment decisions yielded IDR 500 million in interest income contributing to our cash position. The company achieved positive operational performance overall closing fiscal year 2003 with net profit at IDR 14.3 billion and earnings per share of IDR 20.

 

Products & Services

In 2002 Limas collaborated with some of Indonesia’s largest mobile operators to create innovative solutions for data and information delivery that support various mobile platforms and applications - SMS, WAP and GPRS.

As demand increased for the flexibility and performance of StockWatch® Retail, StockWatch® Mobile was born. Rooted in the same technology that powers our StockWatch® Terminal products, StockWatch® Mobile offers users comparable functionality with greater ease of access enabling them to retrieve data anytime anywhere through their smart mobile phones. Also incorporated is a safety shield that ensures user protection by compressing and encrypting all data transmitted thus providing accurate and timely delivery within a secure environment.

With the efforts made by the Jakarta Stock Exchange towards the completion of Remote Trading, PT Limas Centric Indonesia Tbk continued to support this progress towards a floorless exchange through the role as the appointed ASP through its’ StockTrade® services.

Going Forward

Industry consolidation is the key to progress in the Indonesian Financial Market. As the local banking industry continues to merge, it is establishing a firm foundation with expansive retail reach and a wide, increasingly confident, customer base. Supported by steady, high rates of interest and a more stable Rupiah exchange rate, the economic cycle has gained momentum and is effecting growth  across all industries that will continue to be enjoyed as development progresses.

The Indonesian SEC is committed to strengthening the fundamental establishment criteria for brokerage firms. In 2003 it raised its capital requirement for brokerage firms, which naturally forced mergers of smaller firms into existing ones and reduced the total number of industry participants to 137. This step was taken in order boost quality of service and value for productivity and growth and local brokerage firms are becoming increasingly aware of the important role technology plays in stimulating productivity and market liquidity.

The pressure on financial reporting systems to provide information and analysis is, to say the least, intense and unyielding. Nevertheless, investors, regulators and financial services executives themselves are required to base decisions on information gleaned from a variety of internal reporting sources - sources that are often cobbled together and that for the most part have lacked meaningful investment in upgrades for many years. We strongly believe that now more than ever a financial services business' reporting capability directly effects its competitiveness, and that developing a flexible and robust financial reporting capability should be more than simply a matter of regulatory compliance. It is this belief that drives us in our support of the development and implementation of the JSX E-reporting system. Limas is committed to its role as technology infrastructure provider for the Indonesian Capital Market and will continue to work closely with the exchange and other regulatory bodies to improve market transparency in the interest of the public.

More than anything else individual investors and the public at large require free access to an open market and it is this factor that determines when and how transactions are conducted. Mobility – with its flexibility and control - is the platform of the new millennium and at Limas we have made it our duty to deliver this opportunity to the Indonesian public by integrating our knowledge and experience and deepening our existing partnerships with telecommunication operators, thus profiting from the accessibility of financial transactions in an open market.

As the domestic banking sector continues to progress and vital reforms fall into place a steady flow of repatriated funds is expected, which will in turn lead to an increase in technology investment. Further, the changes brought about by technology - price transparency, intensified competition, higher consumer expectations - will result in nothing short of the eventual demise of traditional retail banking. Knowing why, how and when this monumental shift will occur is vital to the success of companies in the emerging financial services industry.

Limas has a clear understanding of the dynamics of this changing marketplace and plans to introduce Fund Rating Services to support top tier banks in offering multiple third party fund products and wealth management products and services. As this trend continues we will begin to see a convergence as banks begin to start offering their own non-traditional banking products and services and Limas will be standing by to expedite this process. We have always placed the highest value on the interests of our customers. They are our business partners and are a daily source of inspiration to us as we grow together - they are the heart of our business.