OREANDA-NEWS. April 13, 2007. LUKOIL may increase dividend payments for 2006 by 17%, said one of the company's high-ranking officials, a BOD member, to AK&M. Exact numbers were not disclosed.
Genady Krasovsky, the head of LUKOIL's department of investment analysis and relations with investors, refused to comment on.
In 2005 the company increased the sum of dividend payments by 17.8% to 33 rub per share. Wholly the company paid 28.068 bln rubs. So the sum of dividend payments may make 38.6 rub per share this year.
By the results of 2004 the company paid 23.815 bln rub as dividends, 28 rub for one common share.
According to the company's dividend policy the company must pay as dividends no less then 15% of consolidated net profit under US GAAP
The sum of dividend payments surpassed all expectations of Uralsib's analytics. The prognosis had it that the sum will make $1.22 (32 rub) per share, said Aleksey Kormishikov.
Valery Nesterov from Troika Dialog said that LUKOIL's 2006-net profit will make approximately $7.8 bln, and dividends will make 16% of net profit, or $1.48 per share.
LUKOIL is the largest oil company in Russia. As of January 1, 2007, LUKOIL's proven reserves of hydrocarbons were 20.36 billion barrels in oil equivalent, including 15.93 billion barrels of oil and 26.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. In 2006 oil production increased 5.6% to 95.2 mil tons, refining volume increased 3% to 48.95 mil tons.
LUKOIL's authorized capital totals RUB 21264081.375. There are 850563255 ordinary shares of RUB 0.025 par in circulation. The company's managers control the largest holding in it - above 20%. The US's ConocoPhillips consolidated 20% shares of LUKOIL by the end of 2006.
LUKOIL ranks second in the list of Russian Leading Companies, by the results of 2005 and published by AK&M in Sept 2006.