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Last year was marked by a record high for the nation’s benchmark stock index, credit rating upgrades and the rupiah strengthening to a seven-year peak, and this month Indonesian companies are likely to report strong earnings performances for 2011, analysts say.

Domestic and consumer-oriented companies are expected to outperform metal-based companies, they say, on the back of strong economic growth.

“If I look at the quarterly performance of Indonesian corporations, they are mostly doing very well,” said Norico Gaman, the head of research at BNI Securities. “I estimate that the average corporate earnings growth will be around 28 percent year-on-year in 2011.”

Industries such as banking, automotive, consumer goods and retail are expected to have performed most strongly, supported by low interest rates and an increase in the number of middle-class households, he said.

“These conditions have created strong purchasing power, which impact on relatively higher Indonesian economic growth,” Norico said.

Car sales in Indonesia rose 17 percent to 894,180 in 2011 from a year earlier, data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) showed, helping to lift profit at companies like Astra International, the country’s biggest automobile retailer. Astra controlled 54 percent of the auto market last year.

Analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg indicate Astra will report a net income of Rp 17.2 trillion ($1.9 billion), a rise of 19 percent on the 2010 result.

Abidan Saragih, an analyst with Pacific 2000 Securities, expects property developers’ profits to rise due to higher sales of land and homes.

Sentul City, which specializes in townhouse-style developments and shopping malls, reported a more-than-16-fold rise in net income to Rp 120 billion in the January-September period alone.

Abidan recommends investors buy shares in Sentul City. Surya Semesta Internusa, a residential and industrial estate developer, is also among his top stock picks.

Still, volatility in Europe because of the region’s sovereign debt crisis and weak economic growth in the United States may have weighed on earnings growth in the fourth quarter as consumer demand overseas slipped.

“For commodity-based companies, in terms of growth, there might be some slowdown, especially for metal-based commodities,” said Bagus Hananto, head of research at Onix Capital.

“Metal prices declined quite steeply last year. However, energy-based commodities like coal are still very much in demand, so they’ll be doing fine.”

Nickel three-month contracts dropped 24 percent on the London Metal Exchange last year.

At Vale Indonesia, the largest nickel producer in the country, net income declined 2.6 percent decline for the January-September period.

The trend of domestic-oriented companies outperforming commodity-based firms is expected to continue into this year, analysts said.

But Norico said that infrastructure builders might also see some boost this year due to the government’s spending push.

“The infrastructure sector mostly underperformed because of a lack of government funding last year. But now, the government plans to increase infrastructure funding this year to stimulate economic growth,” he said.

Last year, the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index rose 3 percent, following rises of 46 percent and 87 percent in 2010 and 2009.