PT Budi Starch & Sweetener Tbk (BUDI) has prepared capital expenditure (capex) for maintenance needs of IDR 100 billion in 2022. BUDI management also admits that the situation during the cassava harvest will affect its performance this year. Deputy President Director of Budi Strach & Sweetener Sudarmo Tasmin said that BUDI's capital expenditure this year was used for the maintenance of machines at the factory, including replacement of machines or spare parts when needed. The funds were obtained from the company's internal cash flow.
BUDI also confirmed that it has no plans to expand such as adding factory capacity or building new factories this year. "We are still concentrating on maximizing the existing factories," added Sudarmo in a virtual public expose, Wednesday (25/6).
Currently, BUDI has 16 tapioca flour mills with a total capacity of 885,000 tons per year. BUDI also has 4 sweetener factories with a capacity of 291,600 tons per year. BUDI's production facilities are spread across various regions such as Lampung, East Java, Central Java, and South Sulawesi.
On the other hand, Sudarmo said that it is still difficult to predict what BUDI's projected performance will look like in 2022. The company which is affiliated with Sungai Budi Group still needs to monitor the progress of harvesting cassava, as the main raw material for tapioca flour, which will take place in the second semester.
This factor also makes BUDI Management unable to estimate the potential for export sales this year. However, BUDI always explores various opportunities so that it is hoped that the company's sales can grow better than last year.
For information, in 2021, BUDI's operating income rose 22.54% (yoy) to Rp 3.37 trillion. At the same time, net profit attributable to owners of the parent entity BUDI grew 33.28% (yoy) to Rp 83.3 billion.
As much as 73% of BUDI's operating income in 2021 comes from the sale of tapioca flour. Then, 22% came from sales of sweeteners or sweeteners, 4% came from sales of plastic bags, and 1% was other income.
Throughout 2021, BUDI's share of local sales reached 80%, while the company's export sales were in the position of 20%.
Sudarmo also assessed that BUDI was not affected by the dynamics of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the main producer of wheat in the global market. Wheat itself is one of the raw materials for making wheat flour. This is because BUDI's main product, tapioca flour, comes from cassava and does not contain wheat in the manufacturing process.
“Our tapioca flour product will be compatible with corn flour, not wheat flour. So, the conflict has no effect," he said.
Then, BUDI will maximize its sales this year, especially in areas that have become the company's base. One of them is the island of Java, which has become the center of BUDI's sales so far.
Tapioca flour products made by BUDI are generally used as raw material for crackers, confectionery, some chemical raw materials, MSG raw materials, and as an adhesive and absorbent for paper and textile products.
As for sweeteners, these products are used for confectionery, ice cream, food and biscuits, beverages, cakes and breads, creamers, seasonings, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
