Prasidha to issue bonus shares

Prasidha to issue bonus shares

JAKARTA (JP): Shareholders of the publicly listed PT Prasidha
Aneka Niaga (PAN) approved a plan to issue 60 million bonus
shares.

The company's president, Mansjur Tandiono, said the issue
would increase the number of shares to 180 million.

"We decided also to split the share's nominal value from Rp
1,000 (41 U.S. cents) to Rp 500 and the split will double the
number of the shares to 360 million," Mansjur said after the
annual general and extraordinary shareholders meeting.

PAN is still waiting for the Capital Market Supervisory Agency
to approve the split and the bonus issue.

PAN's manager for investor relations, Taufik Alia, said the
share split would improve the liquidity of PAN shares because
they would become more affordable for small investors.

"We expect the price of PAN shares to decline by a third after
the bonus share issue and the share split," he said.

PAN's director of finance, Sukiantono Budinarta, said the
company's consolidated net profit rose from Rp 26.7 billion in
1995 to Rp 30.6 billion last year despite a drop in sales revenue
from Rp 752 billion to Rp 740.8 billion.

The company's total assets fell from Rp 431 billion to Rp 410
billion, while its equity rose from Rp 226 billion to Rp 244
billion.

PAN, Indonesia's biggest processor and exporter of food and
plantation products, like coffee, cocoa, rubber, tapioca, vanilla
and pepper, is listed on Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges.

PAN exported 100,00 tons of the 119,000 tons of coffee beans
it produced last year. This is about a quarter of Indonesia's
coffee exports. Indonesian coffee makes up about 2 percent of
world supply.

Taufik said PAN collected Rp 432 billion from coffee sales, Rp
199 billion from rubber sales, Rp 37 billion from tapioca sales,
Rp 49 billion from cocoa sales, Rp 17 billion from pepper and
vanilla sales. Revenue from its hotel service was Rp 5 billion,
while other sectors contributed Rp 700 million.

He said coffee bean sales were expected to drop to Rp 342
billion this year but the company would get Rp 57 billion from
instant and ground coffee sales.

Tapioca sales are expected to fall to Rp 33 billion, rubber
sales to rise to Rp 250 million, pepper and vanilla to Rp 26
billion. Revenue from cocoa sales are seen constant at Rp 49
billion and its hotel service steady at Rp 5 billion.

Mansjur said the company invested US$23 million last month on
a new coffee processing plant in Sidoardjo, East Java. The new
plant will have an annual production capacity of 2,400 tons of
ground coffee and 3,600 tons of instant coffee. (10)