Fire inflicts losses on textile company

JAKARTA (JP): PT Great Golden Star, a textile company, Saturday announced a tremendous operational loss of Rp 8.46 billion (US$3.9 million) last year due to a fire which razed one of its factories.

Hennie K. Tanet, financial director of the company, told an annual meeting of its shareholders here that the company, therefore, will not distribute dividends to them from its 1993 operation.

She explained that the fire caused damages of stock worth Rp 15.81 billion and fixed assets valued at Rp 597 million, while the company's insurer agreed to cover only Rp 7.25 billion for the losses.

The fire also caused a decline in the company's sales revenues to Rp 18.39 billion last year from Rp 20.81 billion in 1992.

The fire burnt one of its two garment factories which had a total production capacity of 40,000 dozen per month.

Hennie said the company, which has a quota to sell 300,000 dozen garments to the United States and another 300,000 dozen to European countries per year, exports 80 percent of its products.

To meet its sales contracts with importers, the company ordered goods from smaller firms, she said.

Hennie said the company has now built a new factory equipped with computerized machines with a total investment of Rp 25 billion. The new factory started operation in April.

She said that during the first six months of this year, Great Golden gained sales revenues of Rp 12 billion, including an estimated profit of Rp 600 million.

She also said the company plans to build a spinning mill to produce thread for its own fabric plant with an investment of Rp 100 billion.

The company, which is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, is 80.6 percent owned by the Great Golden Star Group and 19.4 percent by the investing public. (yns)