Elektrindo ready to float shares in 1996: Kuntoro
Elektrindo ready to float shares in 1996: Kuntoro
JAKARTA (JP): The decreasing price of cellular handphones has cut into the profits of PT Elektrindo Nusantara but has not deterred the private telecommunications company from floating its shares on the domestic stock exchange.
"The board of commissioners has told us to prepare the listing of our company. Our core business in digital central switching, the STK-1000, is very promising," Elektrindo's president, Harry Kuntoro, said yesterday after attending a ceremony marking the company's 12th anniversary.
He said that the company will be ready for an initial public offering next year.
He said that his company, founded in 1983 as a subsidiary of the Bimantara Group, started its business in engineering the technical updates of earth station electronic products of the American Hughes Aircraft Company.
"Currently, Elektrindo is concentrating on the STK-1000, a small capacity digital telephone exchange of 1,000 lines," Harry said. Its other business is the VSAT (very small aperture terminal) system.
He said that his company will develop 16,200 STK-1000 lines for the state-owned telecommunications company for use in rural areas.
"Our company's total assets increased steadily from Rp 133.8 billion (US$60.21 million) in 1991 to Rp 177.2 billion in 1992 and to Rp 216 billion in 1993. Last year the assets reached Rp 234 billion ($105.31 million)," he said.
Elektrindo's finance director, Baringin Simanjuntak, said that his company's profits decreased from Rp 31.5 billion ($14.17 million) in 1992 to Rp 22.5 billion ($10.12 million) in 1993 and to Rp 17.2 billion.
"This year we expect a profit of Rp 11 billion ($4.95 million). The drop was caused by the government's decision to cut the price of cellular telephones from about Rp 15 million in 1992 to only some Rp 4.5 million this year," Baringin said.
Elektrindo runs an advanced mobile cellular phone service in Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Medan in North Sumatra and Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi. According to Harry, Elektrindo gained 60 percent of its profit from the cellular business, 25 percent from telephone networks operated under a revenue sharing program with Telkom and 15 percent from other businesses.
He said that the company now has five affiliated firms including PT NEC Nusantara Communications, PT Alcatel Enkomindo, PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, PT Komselindo and PT Nusantara Submarine Cable Service.
Elektrindo has also established a consortium with Cable & Wires of Britain and Kanimatsu of Japan to participate in the tender for the two million telephone lines of PT Telekom.
Elektrindo is 51 percent owned by PT Bimantara Citra, a holding company of the Bimantara Group controlled by President Soeharto's son, Bambang Trihatmodjo. The other shareholders include PT Karya Teka Panca Murni (25 percent), Azbindo Nusantara (14 percent), Adipta Adidhana and Astagina Prakarsatama (five percent each).
Bimantara Citra announced last month that it had planned to float new shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in the middle of this year.
In addition to Elektrindo, the holding company controls 25 other subsidiaries whose business interests include transportation, property, automotive assembling and broadcasting. (icn)