Lo Kheng Hong Raises Stake as Gajah Tunggal Tests Business Resilience

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Lo Kheng Hong increases his ownership in PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk or GJTL on Sunday, Jan 25, 2026 in Jakarta despite profit pressure at the tire maker, signaling confidence in the company’s long term business resilience.

The move came as Gajah Tunggal faced weaker earnings in 2025 due to softer sales and rising production costs driven by raw material prices and currency volatility.

Based on data from Indonesia’s Central Securities Depository and the Indonesia Stock Exchange, Lo now holds 204.22 million GJTL shares, equivalent to a 5.86 percent stake.

Company disclosures showed that the additional shares were accumulated in several stages during 2025, including purchases in February and May.

The increased stake was made while profitability was under pressure across the tire industry.

As of Sept 30, 2025, GJTL posted net profit of Rp 789.7 billion, down about 20 percent year on year, while net sales declined 2.3 percent to Rp 13.12 trillion.

The weaker performance reflected ongoing challenges in the tire sector, including higher input costs and uneven market demand.

Despite these headwinds, Lo’s move was widely seen as a vote of confidence in Gajah Tunggal’s core strengths.

Analysts pointed to the company’s large production capacity, strong export network, and established tire brands such as GT Radial and Giti in both domestic and international markets.

The company also resumed cash dividend payments in 2025 after a hiatus.

Gajah Tunggal declared a dividend of Rp 50 per share for the 2024 financial year, scheduled for payment on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.

The dividend was viewed as a positive signal of management’s commitment to shareholder returns despite a challenging operating environment.

In stock market trading on Friday, Jan 23, 2026, GJTL shares closed down 0.9 percent at Rp 1,120, valuing the company at about Rp 3.9 trillion.

Over the past month, the stock gained 7.7 percent and rose 7.2 percent year to date, outperforming the Jakarta Composite Index, which advanced about 3.5 percent over the same periods.

From a valuation standpoint, GJTL continued to trade at relatively low multiples.

As of the third quarter of 2025, the company posted a price to earnings ratio of 4.96 times and a price to book value of 0.39 times, with return on assets of 3.54 percent and return on equity of 7.81 percent.