Inco withholds dividend, needs funds to pay debts
Wednesday, October 30 2002 - 12:15 PM WIB
Publicly listed nickel producer PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), the Indonesian unit of Canadian miner Inco Ltd., said Tuesday it would not pay dividend for year 2002 because the company needed funds to pay its debts despite an increase in its earnings.
Inco also said it anticipated lower production in the next two quarters as a result of its plan to renovate Furnace No. 3.
The company said it had planned to produce some 130 million pounds of nickel in matte in 2002, down from the 138 million pounds produced in 2001.
It further said the payment of final dividend for 2002 would be decided in the board of commissioners? meeting in March 2003.
Inco, which is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, operates a huge nickel mining and smelting complex in Soroako, South Sulawesi. (robert)