Taxi company to sell 37% of its shares to public
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)