Indocement buys back $27.5m debt

Indocement buys back $27.5m debt

JAKARTA: PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, controlled by Germany's largest cement maker, HeidelbergCement AG, said it bought back US$27.5 million in debt earlier this week.

Indocement bought back the debt through an auction on Dec. 27 using cash from operations, Corporate Secretary Ria Sjahroni said in a phone interview. She didn't give more details. Outstanding debt has been cut to $495 million, she said.

Reducing debt may cut the Jakarta-based company's dollar loans, which led to currency losses this year. A weaker Indonesian currency, which is down 9.7 percent against the dollar this year, means the company has to repay more in rupiah, in which it makes its earnings.

Indocement had foreign exchange losses of Rp 264.5 billion ($28 million) in the first nine months, which contributed to a 74 percent drop in profit to Rp 183 billion.-- Bloomberg