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BRI to pay Rp 20.6 trillion in dividends
The dividends are equal to 60 percent of the bank’s profits of Rp 34.4 trillion, higher than last year’s dividend payout ratio of 50 percent.
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A customer of state-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) leaves an ATM kiosk in Kediri, East Java, on March 13, 2019. (Antara/ Prasetia Fauzani)
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tate-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), the nation’s most profitable lender, announced on Tuesday a plan to distribute Rp 20.6 trillion (US$ 1.5 billion) in dividends to its shareholders.
The dividends are equal to 60 percent of the bank’s profits of Rp 34.4 trillion, higher than last year’s dividend payout ratio of 50 percent. This means that the value of the dividend of each share will be Rp 168.1, 27.2 percent higher than last year’s dividend of Rp 132.2 per share.
BRI, the biggest state bank by market value, also recorded a 6.1 percent yoy increase in earnings per share (EPS) in 2019 of Rp 279 compared with the 2018 EPS of Rp 263.
BRI president director Soenarso said on Tuesday that the government, which holds a 56.75 percent stake in BRI, would receive a total of Rp 11.7 trillion of the dividend.
“The remaining 40 percent of our profits will be used as retained earnings,” he said during a press briefing after the annual general shareholders’ meeting in Jakarta.
BRI’s profits of Rp 34.4 trillion were the lowest in two years as lending growth slowed and the bank recorded a significant rise in bad loans last year, against the backdrop of the global and domestic economic slowdown.
Lending grew 8.44 percent yoy in 2019 to Rp 908.88 trillion versus 14 percent yoy in 2018. Net interest income grew 5.2 percent to Rp 81.7 trillion in 2019, slower than the 6.35 percent in 2018. Bad loans as indicated by the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio rose to 2.8 percent last year from 2.27 percent in 2018.
Read also: BRI profits slumps as bad credit rises in 2019
The shareholders meeting also agreed to appoint Deputy State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Kartika “Tiko” Wirjoatmodjo as the bank’s new president commissioner, replacing Andrinof A. Chaniago.
It also appointed University of Indonesia (UI) rector and renowned economist Ari Kuncoro as the bank’s deputy president commissioner, who will also act as an independent commissioner, replacing Wahyu Kuncoro.
The bank also made changes to its board of directors as it appointed Wisto Prihadi as the bank’s compliance director. The position was previously held by Azizatun Azhimah.
SOE Minister Erick Thohir said last week that the ministry would shake up three state banks during their respective shareholders’ meetings that will take place this week, namely BRI, Bank Mandiri and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).
"It's normal as long as we can see someone who has great expertise," Erick said, brushing off concerns about an “overhaul” of state enterprises.
Bank Mandiri’s shareholders’ meeting will take place today (Wednesday) and BNI’s on Thursday.
Read also: Erick Thohir to shake up executives at state lenders
Shares in BRI, traded under the code BBRI, closed at Rp 4,400 apiece on Tuesday, down 1.57 percent from the previous trading day. The stocks have risen 12.5 percent in the past year, easily outperforming the broader benchmark Jakarta Composite Index’s (JCI) 9 percent drop.
