(Sept 16): The executive chairman and CEO of Bumitama Agri, a leading producer of palm oil and palm kernel, recently acquired 400,000 shares in the company.
Bumitama in a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Sept 9 said that Lim Gunawan Hariyanto bought the shares at a total cost of $232,960. This brings Lim’s total deemed interest in the plantation company to 52%, up from the previous 51.98%. The percentage in shareholding is calculated based on the company’s issued share capital of 1,737,497,044 ordinary shares (excluding treasury shares).
The latest purchase was done via the open market by an entity called Wellpoint Pacific Holdings. The 52% deemed interest is held by Lim and his father Lim Hariyanto Wijaya Sarwono, the president commissioner and chairman of Harita Group, through their shared interest in Fortune Holdings and Fortune Corp. Fortune Corp is a fund management company that manages Fortune Holdings, which in turn fully owns Wellpoint Pacific Holdings.
Bumitama released its 2Q ended June 30 results on Aug 14. It reported a drop of 61% in profit after tax for 1HFY2019 compared with a year ago.
The group said the low prices of vegetable oils and the high inventory of palm oil had kept palm oil prices low. “We do not foresee any changes in palm oil prices in the near future unless there are changes affecting supply-and-demand dynamics. The group anticipates improvement in its production volume to provide support and mitigate the impact of low palm oil prices.”
China Sunsine buys back more shares as ASP slides
Chinese manufacturer China Sunsine Chemical Holdings has bought back a total of 338,000 shares in the past week at prices ranging from $1 to $1.01 each.
The purchases occurred on Sept 3, 4 and 5 by way of market acquisition. The latest transactions bring the total number of shares purchased so far to 3,087,000, which works out to 0.628% of the company’s total share base.
The speciality rubber chemicals producer on Aug 6 released its 2Q and 1H financial results ended June 30. In 2Q, it chalked up a record-high sales volume of 43,363 tonnes, an increase of 15% y-o-y. China Sunsine attributed the increase to two new production lines — to make high-end rubber accelerators and insoluble sulphur — which started operations in January 2019 and December 2018, respectively.
While revenue in 2Q fell 17% y-o-y to RMB727 million ($141 million) due to a drop in the overall average selling price (ASP), the decline was partially offset by the increase in sales volume.
ASP in 2Q2019 had slid 29% to RMB16,633 a tonne from RMB23,334 a tonne a year earlier. This was attributed to a fall in the price of raw materials and an increase in supply. On a quarter-to-quarter basis, ASP weakened 6% compared with RMB17,637 a tonne in 1Q2019.
China Sunsine’s gross profit margin narrowed to 34.7% from a peak of 36.7% in 2Q2018, but the group said it was “still considered a very healthy level”.
