Astra's fate not up to us: Management
JAKARTA (JP): The management of Astra International, currently caught up in a takeover battle, said yesterday the future of the country's largest automotive company lies in the hand of its shareholders.
Teddy P. Rachmat, the president of the widely diversified business group, told journalists during the announcement of the company's January-September financial reports that: "It is up to the shareholders to decide and we are ready to face any change."
Rachmat gave no hint about the planned takeover of the company's majority stake by PT Nusantara Ampera Bakti (Nusamba) -- a business group controlled by three foundations headed by President Soeharto.
Rachmat said that like other people, the current management was in the dark about Nusamba's takeover plans.
Mohammad (Bob) Hasan, a commissioner of Nusamba, said recently that the company had won approval to buy around 10 percent of Astra's shares from state-owned companies -- at a premium.
The recent news over the plan of Soeharto's foundations to acquire Astra shares broke in the middle of a similar buying spree of Astra's shares by tobacco tycoon Putera Sampoerna.
Putera, the chairman of HM Sampoerna, one of the country's largest clove cigarette manufacturers, later confirmed that he had bought 9.81 percent of Astra's shares. The cigarette producer's wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary bought another 2.85 percent, making Putera and his company the largest shareholders in the automotive company.
Business analysts speculated that the entry of Nusamba into Astra is part of Soeharto's foundations' strategy to support the development of the national car.
Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo (Tommy) Mandala Putra, whose company has been licensed to develop the national car, however, denied last week he had any intention to use Astra's assembling facilities to support the manufacture of the national car, the Timor.
Investors, however, reacted positively to the takeover plans despite business analysts' reservations. Astra's share prices continued increasing on the back of the takeover moves.
The share prices gained Rp 250 yesterday in active transactions to close at Rp 4,250, which indicated a 80 percent increase of over Rp 2,400 in early September.
Profit
Yesterday, Astra International reported a 25.6 percent increase in its net profit to Rp 340.85 billion in the first nine months of this year.
Financial Director Rini M.S. Soewandi said here yesterday that the profit increase resulted from the high growth in the improvement of non-automotive business activities -- a significant increase in the sales of motorcycles as well as the improvement of the financial performances of its financial, heavy industry and agro-business divisions.
Rini said that sales of automobiles declined to 115,542 units in the January-September period from 153.709 units in the same period of last year.
"We hope automobile sales will reach 168,000 units for the whole of 1996," she said, adding that the automobile market, which sharply dropped earlier this year, has shown an improvement.
He said that Astra's net profits are expected to further increase to Rp 450 billion in 1996, with the improvement of the markets for both automobiles and motorcycles.
In April, Astra lowered its net profit projection for 1996 to Rp 350 billion on the planned entry of Timor cars in the market.
PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo), the country's only rating company, yesterday assigned a low-risk A minus on Astra's long-term debts, the best rating assigned to private companies so far. (hen)
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