Barito pays Rp 50 devidend

JAKARTA (JP): The shareholders of PT Barito Pacific Timber, a major publicly-listed producer of plywood and blockboards, yesterday approved the management's proposal to pay a dividend of Rp 50 (2.1 U.S. cents) per share.

Speaking at a press conference after the company's shareholders meeting yesterday, Barito Pacific's president, Joso A.G., said that all the 1995 profit will be distributed as dividends.

He said that Barito Pacific's profit dropped by 52.4 percent to Rp 70.12 billion (US$30.4 million) last year from Rp 147 billion in 1994.

"The drop was due to the decrease of our sales volume and the increase of costs," he said, adding that the company's sales of wood products last year dropped by 5.1 percent to Rp 817.82 billion, while its costs surged by 8.3 percent to 84.9 percent of total sales.

He also said that Barito Pacific, which is owned by Prajogo Pangestu, is currently developing a coal mine in Kalimantan.

"What's encouraging is that we found a large amount of coal reserves around our concession areas in Kalimantan. We have set up four new subsidiaries to develop the mine. Hopefully we can start operations next year," Joso noted.

He added, however, that Barito Pacific will maintain its core business of producing plywood and blockboards.

The shareholders meeting also approved the appointment of a new board of directors, headed by Joso A.G. as president and Jusran as vice president. The directors include Augustinus Aryawan, Susana Sutanto, Yohannes Hardian, Uzeir, Setienven Lunardy, Pamudji, Dadang M.S. and Sutisna Wartaputra. (13)