Tokyo Cement plans rights issue, Sri Lanka
Public listed Tokyo Cement which made a Rs. 53.9m loss in the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 plans to raise between Rs. 1.2-1.5bn through a rights issue to strengthen its capital base.
However, the management has not yet decided on the rights issue ratio, informed sources said. Discussions are at a preliminary stage, they added.
The company currently has 15 million voting shares. Those shares closed flat at Rs. 250 a share on Thursday, on a quantity of 43,400 shares. Its non voting (NV) shares saw 29,900 shares being traded and closed flat at Rs. 16.50 a share. The company has some 75 million NV shares.
Seventy per cent of Tokyo Cement’s voting shares are held by three entities, namely Mitsui Mining Company Ltd., Japan (4,124,995 shares); St. Anthony’s Consolidated Ltd (4,124,982) and South Asian Investment (Pvt.) Ltd (2,251,400); while the balance 30% is held by the public.
The company, together with Holcim, is the market leader in cement sales in the country, with each of these two companies having a 20% market share and the balance by the other players in the industry.
The losses Tokyo Cement made in the third quarter are attributed to the sharp rise in clinker prices which the company imports from South-East Asia.
Holcim Lanka is the only company that has a clinker manufacturing plant which is located in Puttalam.
Tokyo Cement in the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 made a Rs. 53.9 million loss compared with a Rs. 58.5m profit in the corresponding quarter the previous year.
The company’s revenue in the three month period declined by 4% YoY to Rs1bn. The company in the nine month period ended December 31, 2007 saw revenue decline by 6% YoY to Rs. 3.2bn, while earnings declined by 68% to Rs. 97.3m.
Published under Cement News
