Chandra Asri Launches $127 Million Share Buyback as Stock Slumps

JAKARTA, investortrust.id — Chandra Asri Pacific, Indonesia’s leading petrochemical producer, has announced a Rp 2 trillion ($127 million) share buyback to shore up investor confidence after its stock price slumped in recent weeks. The corporate action begins Friday, March 21, 2025, and will run for three months, with the company setting a maximum repurchase price of Rp 10,000 per share.

The company, controlled by Indonesian tycoon Prajogo Pangestu, is taking advantage of a new policy from Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan or OJK, that allows public companies to conduct share buybacks without shareholder approval during periods of high market volatility. The regulation came into effect on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

In an official statement to the Indonesia Stock Exchange, Chandra Asri Pacific (IDX: TPIA) said the move is aimed at enhancing shareholder value, aligning stock performance with fundamentals, and maintaining public trust in the company.

“The Rp 2 trillion in buyback funds will be gradually sourced from our internal cash reserves. We expect to repurchase up to 0.29 percent of total outstanding shares, or around 250 million shares,” the statement read.

The management emphasized that the buyback will not reduce revenue nor significantly affect the company’s financing. They further assured that the buyback will not materially impact operations, citing healthy working capital and cash flows to sustain both the repurchase and ongoing business activities.

To execute the buyback, Chandra Asri has appointed PT Henan Putihrai Sekuritas as its broker. As of the first trading session on Friday, shares of TPIA had fallen more than 9 percent over the past month to Rp 7,075, according to TradingView data.

The move follows recent insider purchases. On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, two of Chandra Asri’s directors accumulated shares as prices dipped further. President Director Erwin Ciputra acquired 308,900 shares at prices ranging between Rp 5,525 and Rp 6,050, increasing his stake to 139.4 million shares.

Baritono Prajogo Pangestu, a director and son of the controlling shareholder, also made a purchase, buying shares at Rp 68,500 each—adding to his total holdings of 229,600 shares.

The buyback initiative comes amid financial headwinds. In 2024, Chandra Asri reported a sharp drop in revenue from $2.15 billion to $1.78 billion, primarily due to weaker performance in its core chemical business. Infrastructure-related operations, however, continued to grow.

The company cited external disruptions in supply and demand that curtailed overall sales volumes throughout 2024. It also noted that the revenue decline was part of a planned transformation strategy known internally as TAM.

As a result, gross profit fell from $81.8 million to $48.3 million, while EBITDA dropped from $130 million to $76.1 million. The company’s net loss widened significantly from $31.5 million in 2023 to $57.3 million in 2024.