Indosat to pay interim dividends in November

JAKARTA (JP): PT Indosat, the first Indonesian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will pay interim dividends of Rp 64 (2.4 U.S. cent) a share to its shareholders.

Indosat's president Tjahjono Soerjodibroto said yesterday that the dividends, accounting for about 30 percent of the company's earning per share of Rp 213.1 for the six months ending in June, would be paid in November.

"The investors holding ADS (American Depository Shares) will get their dividends in U.S. dollars based on the rupiah rate during the payout time," he told the press during the announcement of Indosat's financial statements for the first semester and second quarter of this year.

Indosat, a provider of international telecommunication services, booked a 16.4 percent increase in its total operating revenues in the second quarter of this year. They increased to Rp 259.7 billion ($115.6 million) from Rp 223 billion in the corresponding period of last year.

The rise resulted in a 15.4 percent increase in the company's total revenues in the first six months ending in June to Rp 498.4 billion from Rp 431.9 billion in the same period of 1994.

Tjahjono said the company's financial revenue performance during the first semester of this year was very encouraging despite a slight drop in its market share following the creation of PT Satelindo last November.

Satelindo took around 2.3 percent of our market in the first semester of this year, he said. He predicted the new rival would take the same amount in the second semester.

"Satelindo is expected to reduce our market by between 5 and 6 percent," Tjahjono told The Jakarta Post about the impact of the company's operation to Indosat's financial performance.

Tjahjono said he was optimistic that the short-term impact of Satelindo's operation would remain insignificant, given his company's strong commitment in improving its competitive edge.

Indosat's net income in the second quarter ending in June rose by 81.4 percent to Rp 115.2 billion from Rp 63.5 billion in the same period of 1994.

The significant increase in the April to June period further raised Indosat's net profit in the first semester of this year by 73 percent to Rp 220.7 billion from Rp 127.6 billion in the corresponding period of 1994.

Tjahjono said that the total earning of the company is projected to increase by between 45 percent and 55 percent in 1995.

Indosat floated its American Depositary Shares -- a depository certificate of 10 stocks -- on the NYSE in October last year as the first state-owned firm to be listed on overseas stock market. The price of the company's shares on the local exchange dropped by about Rp 50 yesterday to close at Rp 8,475 despite the company's promising financial performance. (hen)