KazTransOil halving dividends for 2012 to $191 mln
ASTANA. May 29 (Interfax) - JSC KazTransOil will put 28,847,669,925 tenge, or $191.2 million - representing 86% of consolidated net profits - towards dividends for last year, down 52.4% from the 60.002 billion tenge paid out for 2011, the company's General Director Kairgeldy Kabyldin said during a Wednesday press conference in Astana.
Company shareholders voted at their May 28 AGM that the dividends will be 75 tenge per share.
The shareholders also approved the company's consolidated annual financial report to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for 2012, according to which core-business revenues were up 1.8% at 143.061 billion tenge and net profits 29.1% at 33.5 billion tenge.
The list of shareholders eligible to receive the dividends will be established as of June 13, and the payout will begin on July 4, Kabyldin said.
Speaking at the press conference about the idea of issuing global depository receipts (GDR), KazTransOil's Deputy General Director Bolat Zakirov said the company was not planning an additional share issue for placing GDR.
"Foreign investors are rather actively interested in the stock in the company KazTransOil. But, considering that we are placed, and trading in the shares takes place on the Kazakh Stock Exchange, there are certain difficulties for foreigners to come and buy them here," he said.
"Depository receipts, of course, positively affect company liquidity, because access for foreign investors is provided, in this process will be involved both small brokers and the Kazakh Stock Exchange. This is also interesting for the Kazakh stock market," Zakirov said.
"I think that as we study [it] we will resolve this question. We think it fairly interesting," he added.
Kabyldin pointed out that KazTransOil has no plans now to place securities on international financial trading floors.
KazTransOil was the first Kazakh company with state involvement to take part in the state program 'People's IPO." In the run-up to placement at the end of last year, Kabyldin said that KazTransOil would be putting at least 40% of profits towards dividends.
Kazakh Stock Exchange data show that at the beginning of last month the number of placed KazTransOil shares amounted to 384,635,599. National company KazMunayGas holds 90% of the stock in KazTransOil. Ten percent of the company's stock was placed in the People's IPO.
KazTransOil is a natural monopoly on the Kazakh market for pipeline oil-transport services.
The official exchange rate for May 29: 150.84 tenge/$1.
