Sampoerna's bond coupons to range from 10.59 to 10.84%
Sampoerna's bond coupons to range from 10.59 to 10.84%
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Cigarette giant PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna started a week-long
book building process on Tuesday for its planned Rp 1 trillion
(US$108.93 million) bond issue, the proceeds of which will be
used to finance maturing bonds.
Sampoerna director Angky Camaro said the unsecured bonds would
bear a fixed rate of interest, with indicative coupons ranging
from 10.59 percent to 10.84 percent. The bonds will mature within
five years.
"The proceeds from this bond sale will be used to finance
maturing debts from our first bond sale in 2000 also worth Rp 1
trillion. The bonds will mature on Jan. 28 next year," he said
during the public presentation for the upcoming bond sale.
The publicly-listed company will offer the bonds from Oct. 20
to Oct. 22, and expects to list the bonds on the Surabaya Stock
Exchange on Oct. 28.
Angky added that HSBC Securities Indonesia, ABN Amro Asia
Securities Indonesia and Mandiri Sekuritas had been appointed as
the underwriters of the bonds, which have been rated AA+ by
state-owned rating agency Pefindo.
Sampoerna, which is the third largest cigarette producer in
the country with a 19.1 percent market share, notched up a 21
percent increase in sales to Rp 8.42 trillion during the first
half of the year from Rp 6.97 trillion during the same period
last year.
Its half-year net profit rose by 38 percent to Rp 1.09
trillion against Rp 790 billion in the corresponding period of
2003. Currently, it has outstanding debts of Rp 2.42 trillion.
The impressive growth, said Angky, was mainly attributable to
the stable pricing environment in the industry.
National cigarette consumption experienced a 1.5 percent
decline in 2003 from the previous year to 198 billion cigarettes.
Demand recovered in late 2003 and consumption reached 106 billion
cigarettes as of June.
No further company targets or projections were disclosed.
Elsewhere, Angky dismissed reports about Sampoerna's interest
in buying the ailing state-owned air carrier, Merpati Nusantara
Airlines.
"We have no interest in buying Merpati," he said, quickly
adding that Sampoerna currently had no plans to expand its
business into other areas.
Merpati plans to conduct a strategic sale this year to help
pay its debts, followed by an initial public offering in 2006.
Sampoerna's core business is producing cigarettes, while some
of its subsidiaries operate in the retail, printing and
packaging, transportation, and property sectors.
Sampoerna's shares ended Rp 200 higher at Rp 6,000 on the
Jakarta Stock Exchange on Tuesday.