MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Astra Agro Eying Bakrie Sumatera Plantations
Astra Agro Eying Bakrie Sumatera Plantations
26/07/2013 (Jakarta Globe) - Astra International’s plantation unit is considering swooping on Sumatra assets put up for sale by the plantation unit of the Bakrie Group as part of an effort by the latter company to reduce its debts.
Astra Agro Lestari said it was evaluating an asset Bakrie Sumatera Plantations has said it is keen to sell — a 99.97 percent stake in Guntung Idamannusa , which controls 12,547 hectares of palm oil concessions in Sungai Guntung in the Indragiri Hilir regency of Riau.
Astra Agro investor relations officer Rudy Limardjo on Tuesday said the company was studying possible plantation acquisitions to expand its business.
“We have a special team that studies our expansions,” he said.
After a series of mergers, acquisitions, new developments and restructuring, Astra Agro controlled assets totaling Rp 12.42 trillion ($1.2 billion) at the end of last year.
According to its 2012 financial statement, Astra Agro, which has around 28,109 permanent employees, controls a total 272,994 hectares of palm oil plantations in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, making it one of Indonesia’s biggest palm oil producers.
The company sold 752,202 metric tons of crude palm oil in the first half of this year, up 16.7 percent from the corresponding period last year, the bulk of it on the domestic market.
But the average selling price fell 15.8 percent to Rp 6,638 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, Bakrie Sumatera has been selling its assets to pay its debts.
An executive at the company recently revealed plans to sell six subsidiaries, mostly in the plantation industry: Eramitra Agrolestari, Jambi Agrowijaya, Multrada Multi Maju, Padang Bolakjaya, Perjapin Prima and Trimitra Sumberperkasa.
Chandra Sekaran, finance director of Bakrie Sumatera, said the company expected to complete the plantation stake sales within four months.
He declined to provide the transaction value. But the total assets of the six subsidiaries, which control a combined plantation area of more than 30,000 hectares across Sumatra, stood at Rp 2.06 trillion at the end of last year.
According to the company’s financial report, Bakrie Sumatera had short-term liabilities amounting to Rp 3 trillion at the end of 2012 and Rp 8.07 trillion in long-term debt. The company posted a Rp 1.07 trillion net loss last year.
In Thursday trading in Jakarta, shares in Astra Agro fell 4.5 percent to Rp 16,000, while shares in Bakrie Sumatera rose 2 percent to Rp 52.
Astra Agro Lestari said it was evaluating an asset Bakrie Sumatera Plantations has said it is keen to sell — a 99.97 percent stake in Guntung Idamannusa , which controls 12,547 hectares of palm oil concessions in Sungai Guntung in the Indragiri Hilir regency of Riau.
Astra Agro investor relations officer Rudy Limardjo on Tuesday said the company was studying possible plantation acquisitions to expand its business.
“We have a special team that studies our expansions,” he said.
After a series of mergers, acquisitions, new developments and restructuring, Astra Agro controlled assets totaling Rp 12.42 trillion ($1.2 billion) at the end of last year.
According to its 2012 financial statement, Astra Agro, which has around 28,109 permanent employees, controls a total 272,994 hectares of palm oil plantations in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, making it one of Indonesia’s biggest palm oil producers.
The company sold 752,202 metric tons of crude palm oil in the first half of this year, up 16.7 percent from the corresponding period last year, the bulk of it on the domestic market.
But the average selling price fell 15.8 percent to Rp 6,638 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, Bakrie Sumatera has been selling its assets to pay its debts.
An executive at the company recently revealed plans to sell six subsidiaries, mostly in the plantation industry: Eramitra Agrolestari, Jambi Agrowijaya, Multrada Multi Maju, Padang Bolakjaya, Perjapin Prima and Trimitra Sumberperkasa.
Chandra Sekaran, finance director of Bakrie Sumatera, said the company expected to complete the plantation stake sales within four months.
He declined to provide the transaction value. But the total assets of the six subsidiaries, which control a combined plantation area of more than 30,000 hectares across Sumatra, stood at Rp 2.06 trillion at the end of last year.
According to the company’s financial report, Bakrie Sumatera had short-term liabilities amounting to Rp 3 trillion at the end of 2012 and Rp 8.07 trillion in long-term debt. The company posted a Rp 1.07 trillion net loss last year.
In Thursday trading in Jakarta, shares in Astra Agro fell 4.5 percent to Rp 16,000, while shares in Bakrie Sumatera rose 2 percent to Rp 52.