The Jakarta Post reported that cement producer Semen Gresik will pay an interim dividend of IDR 58 per share in December 2009.

The company said in a statement that the payment would be conducted on December 23rd 2009 and those eligible for the dividend are the shareholders recorded by the company as of December 10th 2009.

Semen Gresik has booked an 18.3% increase in net profits during the January to September 2009 period from a year earlier, with better prices compensating for reduced demand. Despite a decline in demand for the industry, the company managed to sell almost 13 million tonnes of cement during this period, slightly more than the 12.4 million tonnes sold a year earlier, he said.

During this period, it posted IDR 2.4 trillion in net profits, up from IDR 1.791 trillion the previous year. Its revenue also increased by 18.3% to IDR 10.4 trillion from IDR 8.8 trillion a year before.

The Semen Gresik Group, comprising Semen Gresik in East Java, Semen Padang in West Sumatra and Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi, is the largest cement producer in Indonesia, with a 45% market share of Indonesia's cement industry. It produces around 18 million tonnes per year, 98% of its total capacity.

(Sourced from www.thejakartapost.com)