Steady growth helps FIF repays bonds worth $76m
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Supported by steady growth in its business of motorcycle loans, Astra International's subsidiary PT Federal International Finance (FIF) paid its matured bonds worth Rp 775 billion (over US$ 76 million) on Monday.
FIF president director Ida Purwaningsih Lunardi said the amortization was to settle its first series of bonds, including interest, issued in 2002. The bonds had a total nominal value of Rp 300 billion.
"The company has issued five series of bonds worth over Rp 3 trillion since 2002. Today, we have paid the first series, which mature this year," she said at a media gathering at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building.
The remaining four series stand at Rp 2.2 trillion.
According to company data, the remaining bonds would mature between this year and 2008 with type A bonds of series 4 worth Rp 200 billion maturing at the earliest on Sept. 20.
Ida was upbeat about her company's ability to pay all the bonds and their interest because it had experienced a steady growth in revenue.
She said the company's revenue expanded by 57.45 percent to Rp 1.7 trillion from Rp 1.1 trillion in 2003.
As of the first semester of this year, the company gained Rp 1.3 trillion in revenue.
"We expect the figure to double by the end of the year, reaching about Rp 2.6 trillion. Meaning that this year's revenue will expand by more than 50 percent from last year," she said.
The first-half revenue allowed the company to book Rp 243 billion in net profit.
She further said this year the company would provide 93,000 loans for the sales of Honda motorcycles per month, 32 percent higher than the monthly average of 70,350 units last year.
The company, which is 99.9 percent owned by Astra International, currently has 1.7 million customers with total serviced assets of more than Rp 14 trillion, she said.
The country has seen a rapid growth in the sale of motorcycles in the past years, thanks in part to the aggressive loan offerings from financing firms.
Last year, some 3.9 million of motorcycles were sold throughout the country. (006)