Holcim launches efficiency measures of US$20m

PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk allocate the working capital budget of US$15m - US$20m to boost efficiency.

A Director of Holcim Eamon J Ginley said the company needs lots of electricity and heating energy so that it needs lots of money to launch efficiency measures.

"We allocate the working capital of US$15m - US$20m mainly to reduce the utilisation of electricity and heating agent. We will focus on that in the near future," he said in a press conference yesterday.

He did not provide any detail on the utilisation of the budget. But he said that it will cut the energy cost by five per cent. He added that this year’s budget and the later one will be focused on such efficiency measures.

In the meantime, yesterday’s AGM did not take decision of dividend payment while the company registered the net profit of IDR175.94bn last year.

The President Director of Holcim Timothy Mackay said the net profit was mainly attributed to the exchange rate profit. In 2005 the company posted the net loss of IDR334bn.

Mackay declined to provide any estimation for this year. He also declined to estimate the growth of Indonesian cement industries.

"There is some report that cement industry has been growing, but the report is misleading. I don’t see any indication that the industry will grow by four per cent this year," he said.

The Finance Director of Holcim, Thomas A Dinkel, said the company has to repay the debt of US$37.5m this year, as last year it has repaid the debt of US$35m.

The total company’s debt to third party is US$252m, while the debt to Holcim of Switzerland is US$196 million.

In the meantime the management of PT Semen Gresik Tbk urged the shareholders, in planning dividend payment, to consider the company’s expansion plan.

The President Director of Semen Gresik Dwi Sutjipto hopes that the dividend will be 25.7 per cent or as same as that in 2005.

"We are still planning to develop new facility. We hope that the study on the group restructuring and the group financing will be ready in the second quarter of the year.