Miner Marcventures declares cash dividend

MANILA, Philippines - Listed miner Marcventures Holdings Inc. (MHI) has declared cash dividends payable to shareholders on record as of Oct. 3, 2014.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, the company said its Board approved on Sept. 19, 2014 the initial declaration of cash dividends totaling P273.2 million or P0.15 per common share for shareholders on record which would be payable on Oct. 22, 2014.

The company said the dividend declaration is pursuant to the policy approved by its Board to declare dividends twice a year.

MHI reported a 71-percent drop in its net income in the second quarter of the year because of the suspension of the mining operations of its subsidiary in Surigao del Sur.

MHI reported a consolidated net income of P95.17 million in the three months ending June 30 against P330.92 million in the same period last year.

In the second quarter, its subsidiary Marcventures Mining and Development Corp. (MMDC) sold 376, 396 wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore compared to the 787, 961 WMT sold in the comparative period last year.

MHI registered total revenues of P410.65 million from the sale of nickel ore in the second quarter, down 47.57 percent from P695.6 million in the same period last year.

In April, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau ordered MMDC to stop its mining operations in Surigao del Sur after it was found that the company was mining outside of the government-approved area.

MMDC occupies a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) of 4, 900 hectares that straddle the towns of Cantilan and Carrascal in which it is allowed to develop 300 hectares in Cantilan.

In issuing the suspension order, the MGB said MMDC was found to have been mining in Carrascal, making its source of ore “illegal.”

Before stopping the company’s operations in Carrascal in April, the MGB had already suspended the company’s operations in Catilan because of “unsystematic operations.”