PT Astra Otoparts to restructure debts

JAKARTA (JP): Automotive components manufacturer PT Astra Otoparts said on Thursday that it was negotiating a US$65 million debt rescheduling program with its creditors.

Finance director Benny Redjo Setyono said the company proposed the restructuring of its matured debt to another five years.

"Some portion of the debts will be repaid next year," he said, adding that the company now held about $27 million in idle cash.

About $40 million of the $65 million debt was owed by Astra Otoparts while the remaining $25 million was owed by its subsidiaries, he said.

"The debts have not matured yet, but we would like to have the negotiation early on for a better bargaining position," he said, adding that the company had never been delinquent in servicing its debts.

Benny said that the company's financial condition had been stable throughout the economic crisis -- which first hit in mid 1997 -- and that it never defaulted on its payment obligations to any of its creditors.

He said he now believed the prolonged economic crisis, of which the automotive industry was among the hardest hit sectors, was on the road to recovery, with clear signs such as consistent higher sales for the company lately.

The company predicted higher sales this year, but declined to gives any possible figures, as too many uncontrollable factors were involved in such a prediction, such as the rupiah exchange rate and the domestic political situation.

Astra Otoparts recorded Rp 769.9 billion in sales in the first half of the year, while for the whole year in 1998 and 1997 the company booked Rp 1.24 trillion and Rp 828.5 billion respectively.

The company's net profit surged to Rp 184.6 billion during the first half of the year from a net loss of Rp 557.6 billion in the same period of the previous year.

The company exported 48.6 percent of its total output during the first half of this year.

"The export market for the company has been stable. For the whole year in 1998 we exported 58.3 percent of our total output," he said.

The company exports to Japan, the United States, Southeast Asian countries, the Middle East and South America.

Astra Otoparts, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, is a holding company with over 30 subsidiaries manufacturing a wide range of automotive parts. (udi)