Tancho shareholders get bonus dividends

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Tancho Indonesia, a producer of cosmetics, perfumes and plastic goods, will pay dividends of Rp 300 (12.5 U.S. cent) a share and give two-for-one bonus shares to its shareholders.

Tancho's president Norimoto Asagiri said yesterday at the company's annual shareholders' meeting that Tancho would distribute the dividend on June 9.

"The total amount to be paid as cash dividends for last year will reach Rp 7.8 billion (US$3.20 million)," he said.

He said the company would issue 26 million new shares as bonuses to its shareholders.

Shareholders would get one bonus share for every two shares they hold, he said.

The bonus shares would come from the capitalization of Rp 6.05 billion in agio or the capital gain received by the company from the sale of its new shares during the initial public offering in 1993, he said.

At yesterday's meeting, shareholders also agreed to the company's proposal to split its nominal share value to Rp 500 from Rp 1,000.

"The split would double the number of shares to 52 million and improve the shares' liquidity," Asagiri said.

The company's stock price closed at Rp 2,100 yesterday. The split will dilute the price by 50 percent.

The split and the bonus shares would multiply Tancho's shares to 78 million, he said.

The shareholders also approved the company's proposal to raise its authorized capital to Rp 156 billion from Rp 100 billion yesterday.

PT Tancho Indonesia is 40 percent owned by Mandom Corporation (originally Tancho Co. Ltd.) Japan. Indonesia's N.V. The City Factory owns the remaining 60 percent.

Last year, the company booked Rp 15.52 billion in net profit, up 21.4 percent from Rp 12.78 billion in 1995.

It recorded a 14.3 percent rise in its sales to Rp 140.53 billion from Rp 122.96 billion in 1995.

Asagiri said the increase caused his firm's operating profit to rise by 27.8 percent to Rp 22.59 billion last year.

Its gross profit ratio rose by 3.5 percent to 43 percent last year from 39.5 percent in 1995, he said.

The increase was partly caused by efforts to increase efficiency and productivity, and a lower raw materials cost due to the lower value of the Yen.

He said the company had also increased its production of plastic packing to cover its own needs.

Asagiri said the company launched 897 new products last year which contributed 10.5 percent to his company's total sales.

One of the products, called Excel, was launched last October. (das)