Indonesian agri-food company Japfa Ltd, which debuted on the Singapore stock market in August, reported on Friday that its net profit for the third quarter of this year fell 10 per cent to US$10.77 million (S$13.95 million) from US$11.99 million for the same period in 2013.

The mainboard-listed company said group gross profit decreased by US$20.8 million or 14 per cent to US$123.5 million in 3Q 2014 from US$144.3 million in 3Q 2013, due mainly to the animal protein operations in Indonesia, which dropped by US$42.3 million.

It said the increase in general wages in Indonesia in 2014 was not enough to compensate for the impact of the weaker rupiah which depreciated by approximately 20 per cent against the US dollar in the second half of 2013. It said this caused a weakening in the purchasing power of low-income consumers across Indonesia resulting in the downward pressure on the selling prices of day-old-chicks and broiler chickens.

Group revenue increased by US$104.9 million or 15 per cent to US$784.7 million in 3Q 2014 from US$679.8 million in 3Q 2013, due to an increase of US$80.5 million from the animal protein segment, US$19.4 million from the dairy segment and US$5.0 million from the consumer food segment.