Publicly listed PT Mitra International Resources, an integrated oil and gas firm, plans to sell some of its shares in PT Apexindo Pratama Duta in 2010 to partly repay its debts of more than Rp 8.2 trillion (US$862 million).
Mitra International Resources, formerly known as Mitra Rajasa, acquired 98.14 percent of the shares in Apexindo in late 2008 through the mobilization of $500 million in loans, in a move that put a heavy debt burden on its financial balance and contributed largely to the company suffering a significant net loss in the January-September period this year.
To help ease that burden therefore, the company plans to sell part of its stake in Apexindo next year, according to Mitra director Inu Dewanto Koentjaraningrat.
Inu, speaking in a public expose on Wednesday, said that the company “had not intended to own that many shares in Apexindo” in the first place.
He did not however elaborate on the volume of shares to be divested next year as part of the divestment deal and associated moves.
In addition to the divestment plan, Inu said Mitra was also planning to restructure its debt next year.
He did not elaborate on details of the restructuring scheme.
“We target to slash our debt to around $350 million after the restructuring and Apex divestment,” he added.
According to him, Apexindo contributed more than 90 percent of Mitra’s revenue in 2009.
The acquisition of Apexindo, one of the largest oil and gas service companies in Southeast Asia, has shifted the focus of Mita’s core business from the transportation sector to oil and gas.
Apexindo booked $170 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2009, down from the $182.5 million registered a year earlier. But net profits increased by 28.4 percent to $46.7 million from $36.4 million recorded in the same quarter in 2008.
Mitra, on the other hand, posted a Rp 641,1 billion net loss, as against Rp 64.2 billion in net profits in the same quarter a year earlier.
Inu said the loss was due to the company having to pay interest on debts, the biggest being the loan from the Apexindo acquisition.
“One of our subsidiaries also had to pay interest of around Rp 124 billion; we also had amortization debt of around Rp 250 billion,” he added.
Inu also said that Apexindo would spend a modest $15 million in capital expenditure in 2010.
“Mitra will also spend $25 million on the refurbishment of our FPSO [Floating Production Storage and Offloading facilities] and another $1 million or $2 million for other capital spending,” he said.
Mitra joined a tender in February to buy one FPSO unit through its subsidiary, Sabre Offshore Marine Pte. Ltd.
The unit being purchased will have a production capacity of 10,000 bopd of oil and 10 mmscfd of gas.
Imaculata Tri Margianti, another Mitra director, said the company “would not be as aggressive as it was in acquisition of assets as in 2008”.
“We want to focus on tidying up our house first,” she said. (adh)
