Semen Gresik may acquire a regional rival

Ika Krismantari, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Wed, 03/18/2009 10:38 AM

PT Semen Gresik, the country’s largest cement maker, may acquire a 40 percent stake in a regional rival as domestic demand slows and the global economic recession makes assets cheaper.

“At the moment, prices are cheap. We don’t want to lose momentum,” president director Dwi Soetjipto said on Tuesday, adding the company has appointed Credit Suisse Group as acquisition plan adviser.

The targets for this expansion plans are cement companies located in the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia now producing cement at a cost of between US$80 to $90 per metric ton, Dwi added.

Highlighting a decline in global prices of assets, Bloomberg reported that the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Materials Index, which tracks 65 makers of basic materials including cement and metals, has fallen 52 percent in the past year.

The acquisition plan, according to Dwi, has forced the company to again revise its capital expenditure plan budget to be spent between 2009 and 2012, which had been previously revised down to $1.3 billion, from $1.6 billion earlier.

“We are again reviewing our financial plan and the change can be upward as we try to accommodate the acquisition plan in the budget,” he said, without mentioning figures.

Semen Gresik vice president Heru Adiningrat said the company planned to hold a shareholder meeting in May to seek approval for the plan.

So far, Heru added, the company has selected six firms as possible acquisition targets.

Semen Gresik’s acquisition plan aims to help it retain its revenue growth amidst an expected decline in growth of local demand this year.

Cement producers expect domestic sales to increase by 3 percent this year, lower than about 12 percent growth last year, with some growth continuing thanks in part, according to Dwi, to the government’s Rp 71.3 trillion (around US$6.1 billion) economic stimulus plan.

Semen Gresik may produce 19 million tons of cement this year, around 4 percent higher than last year. It currently is the leader in the country’s cement market with a 44 percent market share.

Dwi said that the company targeted to export 1.5 million tons of cement this year, up from 1 million tons in 2008. Semen Gresik exports its products to South Asia, Africa and Middle Eastern countries.

“There’s room for an increase in domestic sales due to the stimulus package,” Dwi said.

“If domestic demand weakens, we’ll boost exports, but if that fails, we’ll reduce capacity.”

During the press conference, the company also announced a 42 percent increase in net profits last year from a year earlier, to Rp 2.52 trillion from Rp 1.78 trillion, as sales rose, facilitating growth in profits.

It sold 17.66 million tons in 2008, up from 16.9 million ton in 2007.

The publicly listed company is 51.09 percent owned by the government, 24.01 percent by Blue Valley Holdings — a subsidiary of business conglomerate Rajawali Group — and 24.9 percent by the investing public.