ASFI sells US unit, Indonesia assets

To ensure the sustainability of our results, we must consolidate our gains and make decisions that are consistent with our objectives

Listed Alliance Select Foods International Inc. (ASFI) on Thursday said it has sold its shares in its Massachusetts-based subsidiary and assets in its Indonesia unit to focus on operations in the Philippines and New Zealand.

ASFI said it has signed the securities purchase agreement with Acme Smoked Fish of Massachusetts LCC for the divestment of 100 percent of its equity investment in its subsidiary Spence & Co.

ASFI said the agreement was approved and signed in a special board meeting on 23 October. The company took over Spence & Co., which is engaged in the production of smoked salmon and seafood, in 2011.

Moreover, ASFI is also selling the land and building of its Indonesian unit PT International Alliance Foods Indonesia to PT Multi Nabati Sulawesi, a unit of agribusiness group Wilmar International Ltd.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, ASFI noted it plans to use the proceeds from the transactions to fund capital expenditures and “significantly reduce debt.”

The company also said the move is part of its strategy to focus on its operations in the Asia-Pacific, where majority of its assets are.

“Ninety percent of our business is in the Philippines and New Zealand. Growing our operations and maintaining our profitability in these countries is our priority in the medium term,” ASFI president and chief executive officer Raymond K.H. See was quoted as saying.

“To ensure the sustainability of our results, we must consolidate our gains and make decisions that are consistent with our objectives.”

ASFI’s consolidated revenues in the first half of the year declined 10 percent to $43.1 million from $48.1 million in the same period last year as sales in its tuna and salmon businesses decline.

Sales in the tuna segment receded nine percent due to the lower market price of raw fish, while salmon sales were down 14 percent owing to difficulties in securing the particular species of salmon ASFI required.