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ALLIANCE Tuna International Inc. announced on Tuesday that it will
buy a majority stake in an Indonesian rival to gain access to the
vast fishing grounds of that country.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock
Exchange, the canning firm said its board has approved the
acquisition of 70 percent of PT Karabha Sakti, a tuna cannery
located in Bitung, Indonesia, for $722,400. The rest of the
Indonesian firm would be owned by a group led by CV Wailan Pratama.
In addition to the acquisition of assets,
Alliance Tuna will inject $900,000 for the cannery’s capital
expenditures this year, including the modernization of the
processing plant. The deal is expected to be completed within 90
days and the 60 metric ton a day cannery would start operating by
August.
“Not only will the investment give [Alliance
Tuna] access to the most fertile tuna fishing grounds in the world
but will also complement [its] marketing and manufacturing efforts
thus ensuring future growth and profitability,” the listed firm
said.
Alliance Tuna ships all of its canned tuna
products to Europe and North America, accounting for more than 84
percent of its total sales. It is a “private label manufacturer”
which means it processes and cans tuna for its clients using its
clients’ brands. To add to profit margins, the firm processes
by-products and scraps into fishmeal, which are sold to Philippine
feed millers.
At end-September, its net income grew by 21
percent to $1.7 million year on year, while its net profit margin, a
measure of peso profit for every peso sales, slipped to 5.48 percent
from the previous year’s 5.98 percent. Earnings per container
during the same period rose by 9.2 percent to $2,340 over the prior
year. Net sales grew 33 percent to $ 31.1 million year on year due
to increased demand from major markets, a wider client base and
introduction of new products.
-- Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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