Steady Safe plans to offer 11.65 million new shares

JAKARTA (JP): PT Steady Safe, a company operating taxicabs and buses in the greater Jakarta area, will offer 11.65 million new shares accounting for 19.75 percent of its enlarged common stocks to the public later this month.

Jopie Widjaja, the company's president, told reporters after a presentation here Friday evening that the new shares, each with a nominal value of Rp 1,000 (46 U.S. cents), will be sold at a price offering a price-earning-ratio (PER) of about nine times to 10 times.

He refused to specify the sales price because his company was still waiting for approval from the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam). However, he did say that his company expects to generate about Rp 60 billion (US$27.82 million) from the issue of the shares.

Steady Safe, which is wholly owned by PT Infiniti Wahana, was promoting its plan to offer new shares to the public in March with PT Credit Lyonnais Capital Indonesia (CLCI) as its lead underwriter, offering a PER of between 10 times and 13 times.

Hary Tanoesoedibjo, president of PT Bhakti Investama, Steady Safe's new lead underwriter, said the offering period of the new shares is scheduled from June 29 to July 1.

The new shares will likely be listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges by July 29, Hary added.

Jopie said Steady Safe will use 39 percent of the proceeds from the share issuance to finance the expansion of its fleets, 58 percent to provide loans for its subsidiaries and the remaining three percent to repay debts.

He explained that his company and its subsidiaries -- PT Citra Pancakabraja, PT Wahana Artha Sentosa, PT Luhur Satria Dwriya and PT Mastrans Swadarma -- which currently operate 1,410 taxi cabs and 40 buses, will procure 237 new cabs, 60 buses and 100 limousines later this year.

Steady Safe and its subsidiaries are the operators of Steady Safe Taxi, Spirit Taxi, Swadharma Taxi, Transit Cab and Masstrans Patas AC express city buses.

Steady Safe's finance director, Jose Panginaban Jr., said the company's after-tax profit, which increased from Rp 4.26 billion in 1992 to Rp 6.79 billion last year, is expected to further increase to Rp 21.1 billion this year.

The company's net revenues rose from Rp 12.21 billion in 1992 to Rp 16.83 billion last year and is projected to increase to Rp 53.67 billion this year.(02)