Charoen to issue bonds to refinance debts

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed poultry feed producer PT Charoen Pokphand Indonesia is considering issuing bonds or taking out bank loans to refinance its US$66.99 million in foreign debts.

Charoen senior vice president Rusmin Ryadi said refinancing the debts was part of the company's short-term goals.

"But we don't know how much we will raise for the refinancing, and whether we will use bonds or take out loans," Rusmin said during the company's public expose.

Charoen's $66.99 million in foreign debts and Rp 11 billion (about $1.1 million) in local debts fall due in December 2003.

The interest rates for the company's local debts float at 2.5 percentage points above the Bank Indonesia certificate rate. The interest debts for the foreign debts float at 2.5 percentage points above the Singapore interbank offered rate. (SIBOR)

Rusmin said that in March last year Charoen paid principle payments that were to fall due on June 30 this year. He did not specify the amount of the payments.

In October 1999, the company signed an agreement to reschedule the payment of $190 million in loans, including those of its affiliate chicken-breeder PT Charoen Pokphand Jaya Farm. Under the deal, the two companies will repay their debts by 2003.

Charoen said the companies had already paid 45 percent of the $190 million.

As of December last year, Charoen Jaya Farm's foreign debt stood at $28.71 million and 756.93 million yen. The debts carry interest rates of 2.5 percentage points above the SIBOR, and 2.5 percentage points above the Tokyo interbank offered rate.

According to Charoen's unaudited financial reports, its totl sales last year reached Rp 2.86 trillion, up 20 percent from the Rp 2.37 trillion the previous year.

Charoen's gross profit margin last year stood at 22 percent, a drop from 28.76 percent in 1999.

Sales of Jaya Farm's day-old chickens rose 16.2 percent to Rp 402.89 billion.

This year, the two companies expect a sales increase of 25 percent for poultry feed and 15 percent for day-old chickens.

Charoen Indonesia is a subsidiary of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group. The company controls some 35 percent of the domestic poultry feed market.

The company was founded in 1972 and has been publicly listed since 1991.

Charoen is 55.34 percent owned by PT Central Proteinaprima, 8.44 percent by United States Norbax Inc. and 36.22 percent by the public. (bkm)