14/11/2007 (Bloomberg) - Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., Singapore's biggest car-seller by market value, said third- quarter net income rose 76 percent because of a recovery in Indonesia's auto market and higher palm oil prices.

Net income was $113.1 million, or 32.6 cents a share, in the three months ended September, from $64.4 million, or 18.92 cents, a year earlier, Singapore-based Jardine Cycle said in a statement today. Sales climbed by a third to $2.4 billion.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage owns 50 percent of Indonesia's PT Astra International, which last month reported a 68 percent rise in net income to 1.9 trillion rupiah ($206 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30. Car sales in Indonesia have gained after the central bank cut loan rates. Surging palm oil prices also boosted Astra's earnings.

``High palm oil prices, the low interest rate environment and recovery in the automotive market in Indonesia are expected to have a positive impact on the group's results for the year,'' Anthony Nightingale, Chairman of Jardine, said in the statement.

Astra sold more of Toyota Motor Corp.'s Avanza and Innova models after central bank interest rate reductions slashed the cost of car loans. Surging demand for palm oil boosted earnings at the company's farm unit PT Astra Agro Lestari.

Astra owns PT United Tractors, a heavy-equipment maker, Astra Agro, Indonesia's largest publicly traded palm oil producer, and PT Astra Graphia, a computer services company.

Shares of Jardine Cycle & Carriage climbed 0.5 percent to S$20.30 before the announcement. The stock has gained 37 percent this year, compared with the 18 percent gain in the benchmark Straits Times Index.

Profit at Jardine improved also because of higher margins and improved demand for Mercedes Benz luxury cars in Singapore, the company said in the statement.