Taxi company to sell 37% of its shares to public

JAKARTA (JP): PT Centris Multipersada Pratama, a taxi operator, will sell 37 percent of its expanded shares through the Jakarta and Surabaya Stock Exchanges at the end of this month.

The company, which currently operates over 2,000 taxis in four major cities, will offer 20 million shares, each with a par value of Rp 1,000.

Centris, founded in 1989 with an initial fleet of 100 taxis, is to hold a presentation on its primary share offering plan for securities brokers and analysts at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here this morning.

When listed on the stock exchanges later next month, Centris will be the third taxi operator going public after Steady Safe, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), and Zebra Nusantara, listed on the parallel bourse.

According to PT Sigma Batara, the lead underwriter of the share issuance, 35 percent of the initial public offering proceeds will be used to finance the expansion of Centris's taxi fleets to almost 3,600 units and business diversification into the operation of air-conditioned buses in 1995, 30 percent to finance procurement of land, building and service equipment and 35 percent to repay outstanding debts.

Centris's financial report recorded sharp and steady increases in its after-tax profits from Rp 4.9 billion (US$2.2 million) in 1992 to Rp 6.1 billion in 1993. The profit is expected to reach Rp 12.5 billion this year.

Price

Sigma Batara said the price of the shares will be set at a level offering a price earning ratio (PER) of seven times.

Centris is currently 49 percent owned by the company's chief commissioner Ginawan Chondro, 44 percent by commissioner Suherman Ade Yulimar and the rest by its president Hendra Kaswara.

At the moment, 93 percent of its fleets under such names as Ratax, Victory, Kartika, Sri Medali, Liberty and Mercury operate in the greater Jakarta area, while the remainder operate in Yogyakarta and the Central Javanese cities of Semarang and Solo.

Next year, the company will expand its operation into six other major cities, including Bandung in West Java, Palembang and Lampung in southern Sumatra, Padang in West Sumatra, Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi and Manado in North Sulawesi.

The expansion of the taxi fleets, however, will still focus in the greater Jakarta area, which is currently served by 7,502 taxi cabs, far lower than the total demand for over 23,000 units at present.

Centris also plans to diversify its business into air- conditioned buses with an initial fleet of 50 units in the greater Jakarta area as it believes that the demand for buses is estimated at over 2,600 units, as compared to the projected supply of only 415 units to the end of this year. (rid)