State-owned gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) has announced a plan to distribute Rp 1.38 trillion (US$97.5 million) in dividends, or 31.8 percent of the firm’s 2018 profit.

At an annual shareholder meeting on Friday, the company’s shareholders agreed that the value dividend for each share would be Rp 56.99, or 80 percent higher than the value of each share of the dividend of Rp 31.

“What we have achieved in 2018 is evidence that the holding plan is working. Our profit and revenue increased last year,” PGN president director Gigih Prakoso said referring to the integration of PGN with state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina into a state-owned holding company.

PGN has now become a gas subholding company after acquiring Pertamina’s subsidiary PT Pertamina Gas (Partas) in the $1.39 billion deal.

PGN booked $305 million in net profit in 2018, or 54.8 percent higher than the figure the previous year of $197 million.

The shareholders also agreed to appoint former Pertamina corporate secretary Syahrial Mukhtar as PGN’s director for strategy and business development.

“As we have become a gas subholding company, we need to expand our business both in domestic and regional markets,” Gigih of PGN said.

In terms of oil and gas production realization, PGN produced 39,213 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) last year and distributed 962 British thermal units per day [bbtud] of gas in trading and 2,101 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd] of gas through transmission. (bbn)