Bumi to refinance its debt in 2004
Monday, December 8 2003 - 04:11 AM WIB
?This refinancing will be done so that the Bumi?s finance (financial position) is healthy,? Suryo B. Sulisto, Bumi Resources? president commissioner, said this weekend in Jakarta.
According to Suryo, refinancing will be done through publishing bonds with a lower interest rate. Because, Bumi presently has debts that carry the higher interest rate than the market rate.
However, Suryo admitted that he doesn?t know how much money is needed for refinancing as the Bumi?s directors have not yet released the figure.
?If you want the details of the figure, you better ask Ari S. Hudaya (Bumi?s president director),? Suryo said.
He further said Bumi was forced to borrow the money from the market at a high interest rate to take over East Kalimantan ?based coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC).
Bumi optimistic that the external lenders will support its refinancing plan.
?With the KPC ownership, we are sure that the investors will be interested in our bonds,? Suryo said.
Bumi, a relatively small mining company, made headlines in local media about four months ago, after acquiring the entire stakes in giant coal-mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) from Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and Anglo-American energy giant BP PLC for US$500 million.
The purchase surprised many parties in the country, including top officials in the central government and East Kalimantan administration.
Bumi?s net profit surged by 76 percent to Rp 64.8 billion (US$7.6 million) in the first nine months of this year, from Rp 36.7 billion in the same period last year, on higher sales.
In a report to the Jakarta Stock Exchange, the company said recently that its nine-month sales increased to Rp 1.99 trillion from up 1.83 trillion.
But the company's cost of sales also increased to Rp 1.55 trillion from Rp 1.17 trillion, trimming down its profit. (*)