Gazprom bosses not to raise recommended dividend level
COPENHAGEN. April 26 (Interfax) - The chief executive of Russian natural gas heavyweight Gazprom on Tuesday excluded the possibility of the company management revising upward its recommended level of per-share dividends for 2010.
The recommended dividend of 2.7 rubles per share, which is subject to approval by the board of directors before it is put before the annual shareholders' meeting for definitive confirmation, is higher than dividends paid in previous years, Alexei Miller told reporters.
Miller declined to answer why the management had opted against using a recently adopted Gazprom principle of enlarging the dividend calculation base by the equivalent of losses from the revaluation of investments.
A drop in the value of Gazprom Neft shares has inflicted losses of 152 billion rubles on Gazprom. If Gazprom had increased its dividend calculation base by this amount, the dividends would have risen to 3.82 rubles per share, something the market had been waiting for.
Miller also said he knew the names of those who would fill the seats on Gazprom's board to be vacated by top state officials in fulfillment of a recent decree by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "Why shouldn't I? I'm the chief executive officer, after all," he said without disclosing any of the names.