JAKARTA (Indonesia Today) – Fitch Ratings has assigned Indonesia-based PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia Tbk’s (Japfa, BB-/Stable) USD225m 6% notes due 2018 a final ‘BB-‘ rating. The new notes, issued by Comfeed Finance B.V., are guaranteed by Japfa.
The rating action follows the receipt of documents largely conforming to information already received. The final rating is in line with the expected rating assigned on 17 April 2013.
Japfa plans to use 55.6% of the proceeds to refinance existing bank loans, and the balance to fund capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.
The ratings reflect Japfa’s position as Indonesia’s second-largest supplier of animal feed and day-old-chicks (DOC) by market share and its established track record. This provides the company with flexibility to pass onto customers increases in raw material costs and foreign exchange fluctuations to protect profit margins. Japfa benefits from low procurement costs relative to peers as it sources about 70% of its corn requirement domestically. (Indonesia Today)