Suba Indah stops production of liquor
JAKARTA (JP): PT Suba Indah, a manufacturer of sausages, condiments, spirits, wines and soft drinks, has stopped its liquor production due to Operation Cleansing.
"Our liquor sales have been hampered since the operation was intensified in April. We have totally stopped the production of liquor," Suba's president Lukman Djuhandi told reporters after attending the company's annual shareholders meeting yesterday.
He said that because of the unfavorable conditions, about 100 workers have been shifted to other units within the company which is a subsidiary of the Hero Group.
"We are trying to avoid dismissals, but we also urge the government to understand our problem," he said, adding that Suba employs more than 600 workers.
He said that the Ministries of Health, Industry and Trade will soon set up a coordinating team with domestic liquor manufacturers to anticipate possible problems caused by Operation Cleansing.
The operation, involving personnel from the Police and Army as well as officers from the district administration, launched a crackdown on liquor at shops, supermarkets, manufacturers and distributors.
"Actually Suba has the license for the alcoholic drinks, but the small, unlicensed plants upset the whole market," Suba's director Steve Sondakh said, adding that licensed manufacturers actually have the right to do business.
Last year, the company netted a profit of Rp 5.87 billion (US$2.72 million), up 15.1 percent from 1992's Rp 5.1 billion ($2.36 million). Suba's sales reached Rp 43.3 billion in 1993, increased by 18.5 percent from Rp 36.6 billion in the previous year.
According to Lukman, Suba manufactures some 200 items including 25 brands such as Fiesta, Sunquick, Marjan Boudoin, Hunt's. Only 25 percent of the company's profit in 1993 was derived from liquor products, including the brands Drum, Mansion House, Sea Gram and Hakutsuru.
He said that his company started last year to export about five percent of the products to Eastern European nations and Vietnam.
"We will also diversify our business into processed meat and other various beverages," he said.
Suba, established in 1975, wants to lessen the country's dependence on imported food and beverages. Suba was listed at the Jakarta and Surabaya Stock Exchanges in December 1991. The company's shares are currently traded at around Rp 6,000 and Rp 7,200.
Yesterday's meeting agreed that Suba will distribute cash dividends of Rp 65 per share to its shareholders on August 10. (icn)