By Delly Waigeno – EM TV News, Port Moresby
The Board of Petroleum Resources Kutubu (PRK) has announced a K40 million final dividend payment for 2014.
PRK is the largest subsidiary landowner company managed by the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC).
From the K40 million dividend, 40 per cent will be distributed to the Gulf and Southern Highlands Provinces, while 60 per cent will be distributed to the Fasu, Foe, and Kikori pipeline landowners.
The announcement of the dividend was made at a media conference by the board of Petroleum Resources Kutubu Limited, excluding three of its members who were absent due to other commitments.
Managing Director MRDC, Augustine Mano, who is also a Director of Petroleum Resources Kutubu Limited, said PRK’s financial performance in 2014 was phenomenal.
PRK’s consolidated gross revenue for 2014 was K231.7 million-compared to K138.7 million in 2013. Net profits more than doubled from K65 million in 2013 to K120.7 million in 2014.
The remarkable growth has been attributed to three factors: first being the six months of sales of LNG cargoes, second the reduction of the corporate tax rate from 50 per cent to 30 per cent, and finally dividend flow from other investments.
The PRK Board has invested K240 million over the last four years from their cash flow to finance their equity stake of 1.12 per cent in the PNG LNG project. The investment decision is finally paying off.
Over the last five years PRKs total assets have more than doubled from K781 million to now K1.55 billion. Net assets have also grown from K708 million to K965 million.
Abraham Murepe, Chairman of PRK, said the board wants the people to receive the benefits of their resources and he urged them to put the money to good use.
Despite the downturn in the price of oil and reduction in the LNG revenue, Mano is confident that next year will see dividends from other investments outside the petroleum sector.
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