Timah to postpone dividend payment

State tin mining company will call postpone the second payment of year 200 dividend totaling Rp 59.5 billion, due to the company's worsening cash flow situation.

The company's corporate secretary Prasetyo B. Saksono acknowledged that the company will call an extraordinary shareholders meeting to ask the shareholders' approval for the postponement of the dividend payment.

The company had sent a letter to the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) about its plan to hold the extraordinary shareholders meeting.

Timah had planned to pay a total of Rp 119.5 billion in dividends, or Rp 237.8 per share, out of its Rp 331 billion profits booked last year.

The first payment of dividend had been cashed out on June 28, and the second payment would be distributed on Dec. 13, 2001. However, because of the company's worsening cash flow situation, the company would ask shareholders to postpone the second payment.

Prasetyo attributed the worsening cash flow to the sharp fall of tin prices in the international market, from between $5,200 and $5,400 per ton last year to below $4,000 per ton now.

He also said that the company would also presented a contingency plan to the shareholders to be approved, but he refused to detail the plan. (*)