Novatek set to pay 6.9 rubles per share for 2015
MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - The board of directors of Novatek has recommended that shareholders approve a final dividend for 2015 equal to 6.9 rubles per share in addition to the interim dividends already paid, the gas company said in a statement.
The recommended date for compiling the list of shareholders eligible to receive the dividend is May 4.
Shareholders will vote on the dividend at the AGM on April 22. The register of shareholders for the meeting closes on March 21.
Novatek paid an interim dividend of 6.6 rubles per share or 66 rubles per GDR for H1 2015, so the total dividend for the year will be 13.5 rubles per share or 41 billion rubles.
Novatek's dividend policy is to pay at least 30% of net profit told Interfax International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). For H1 2015, the company paid 20.04 billion rubles, or 30% of earnings for the period.
Novatek doubled net profit to IFRS to 74.4 billion rubles for 2015, from 37.3 billion rubles in 2014. Net profit was impacted by the foreign exchange effect and the change in fair value of non-commodity financial instruments (including at the joint ventures level), as well as the effect of disposal of interests in joint ventures. Net of these effects, adjusted profit attributable to Novatek shareholders totaled 135 billion rubles in 2015.
Thus, the company has removed the paper items from its base to calculate dividends.
According to the latest disclosed data, the largest shareholder of Novatek is Leonid Mikhelson, who owns a 24.76% stake. Gennady Timchenko's Volga Group owns 23.49%, and France's Total - 18.2%, Gazprom - 9.99%, and free float is estimated at 27%.
The company has 3,036,306,000 issued ordinary shares.
