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Saratoga to expand investment portfolio amid stock market losses
Saratoga Investama recorded investment losses at Rp 5.9 trillion (US$418.8 million) on this year’s first quarter, a turn-around from Rp 1.39 trillion profit it booked on the same period last year, as mark-to-market share prices plunged.
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Visitors take pictures of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) trading board in Jakarta on Dec. 30, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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ublicly listed investment firm PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya plans to expand its investment portfolio after losses sustained in the stock market crash induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company’s investment director, Devin Wirawan, said on Wednesday that Saratoga had been assessing several companies and was determining the timing to purchase the stocks.
“As an active investment company, we will actively buy new stocks when share prices fall as many of them become more affordable for us,” he told the press during a virtual press briefing, adding that the company would also remain cautious in expanding its portfolio.
Saratoga Investama recorded investment losses at Rp 5.9 trillion (US$418.8 million) in this year’s first quarter, a turnaround from Rp 1.39 trillion in profit it booked in the same period last year, as mark-to-market share prices plunged. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), the main gauge of Indonesian share prices, has dropped more than 21 percent since the beginning of the year, fuelled by investors’ fear over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
The company’s natural resources stocks portfolio recorded the steepest fall in the first quarter this year with Rp 3 trillion in losses against Rp 509.8 billion in the same period in 2019. In general, it focuses its investment on infrastructure, natural resources and consumer sectors.
The company would continue investing in the three sectors, while it expected to score the new investment deals in the next six to 12 months, as it was currently conducting due diligence, Devin said.
“We are allocating around $50 million to $100 million for this year’s investments,” said Devin.
The figure was similar to last year’s investment allocation of $100 million, according to a previous report by Kontan.
The investment firm, backed by former Jakarta deputy governor and 2019 vice presidential contender Sandiaga Uno, currently has 15 companies in its portfolio.
They including publicly listed companies like coal miner PT Adaro Energy, telecommunication tower firm PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure and automotive firm PT Mitra Pinashtika Mustika (MPM), stocks of which also took a severe hit in the pandemic.
Since the beginning of this year, Adaro lost 33.76 percent of its value as of Thursday, while Tower Bersama and MPM share prices declined by 4.88 percent and 24.06 percent, respectively.
Saratoga’s portfolio also includes several privately-owned companies like hospital firm PT Famon Awal Bros Sedaya and pharmaceutical firm PT Deltomed Laboratories.
The firm’s finance director, Lany D. Wong, stated that the company remained confident on its investees’ stock performance this year, as some of those share prices had regained strength amid the gradual market recovery in April and May.
“We are also confident about our investees’ financial performance, as they have good underlying,” said Lany.
Meanwhile, Saratoga received approval from its shareholders to disburse Rp 149.2 billion in dividends this year, equal to Rp 55 per share, from its 2019 profit, she continued.
The company pocketed Rp 7.37 trillion in net profit in 2019 as it booked Rp 6.23 trillion in net gains on investments. It also booked Rp 2.84 billion on dividends, interest and investment income last year.
