A report by Reuters suggests that Polish copper miner KGHM will move forward with its investment plan even though the country's treasury ministry is pushing for a dividend payout opposed by the management, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.
"We are moving forward with our investment plan and we are not waiting for the dividend payout," Miroslaw Krutin told reporters in the southwestern Polish city of Lubin, where KGHM is based.
"Right now other factors influence our investments rather than dividend, that is copper price or the dollar," he said.
Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said earlier this week he would push for a dividend payout at state-controlled KGHM in spite of management pleas to leave the entire 2008 net profit of 2.92 billion zloty ($870 million) in the company.
Grad added the amount was yet to be decided.
Last month, KGHM earmarked 9 billion zlotys for investments to boost copper production and seek deposits abroad. The miner, one of Europe's top copper producers, plans to seek acquisition targets during an upcoming CESCO copper conference in Chile.
"One of the goals of this visit will be to examine companies from the point of view of acquisitions," Jaroslaw Romanowski, head of KGHM's trade and hedging, said. "We hope we'll use the time to talk on eventual takeovers."
Last year, KGHM shareholders, led by the treasury, pushed through a 1.8 billion zlotys dividend, nearly two-thirds more than the management's proposal.
It was among the top state-owned dividend payers, together with Poland's top bank PKO BP PKOB.WA.
Analysts fear a high dividend payout may curb KGHM's investments, as the miner does not expect profit on core business this year because of lower copper prices MCU3.
Source: Reuters
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