Romanian Petrom to distribute half record profit as dividends, owner OMV entitled to EUR 177 mln

Romanian oil and gas company OMV Petrom, which reported a record profit of EUR 886 million last year, plans to pay a dividend of RON 0.031 per share - translating as an 8 percent yield, given the current market price per share of RON 0.38. In total, Petrom wants to distribute EUR 415 million from its profit last year as dividends.

Austrian OMV, the main shareholder in OMV Petrom with a 51.1 percent of the shares, would cash in some EUR 177 million in net dividends from its Romanian subsidiary. The Romanian state, with 20.6 percent, and Fondul Proprietatea, with a similar stake, would receive some EUR 70 million each. The company's shareholders will decide on the dividend proposal at their meeting on April 27 and dividends could be distributed from July 18. The company's managers proposed not to create a fund for employee bonuses from last year's profit. Austrian OMV owns 51.1 percent of the company's shares, the Romanian state owns 20.6 percent, while Fondul Proprietatea, has some 20.1 percent. The EBRD has a 2 percent stake and the rest is floating on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. editor@romania-insider.com