Romanian companies Romgaz, Hidroelectrica endorse supplementary dividends

The general shareholder meeting at Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz approved on December 7 the disbursement of RON 707 million as supplementary dividends. The money, out of which RON 502 million (EUR 107 million) will go to the state budget, is going to be disbursed on December 28, just before the government calculates the budget balance, local Ziarul Financiar reported. On December 19, the shareholders of another major state-controlled Romanian company, Hidroelectrica, are expected to endorse RON 687 million of supplementary dividend, out of which RON 550 million (EUR 115 million) will go to the state budget, according to Economica.net. The supplementary dividend at Romgaz results in a yield of 5.2%, compared to the recently prevailing price of the company’s shares on the stock exchange. Since Hidroelectrica’s shares are not listed, the yield generated by the supplementary dividend can only be estimated: versus a value of RON 17.5 billion estimated by the property restitution fund Fondul Proprietatea at the end of June (FP holds 20% in Hidroelectrica and contemplates selling the stake), the yield would be 3.9%. Shareholders of Romania’s Transgaz approve extra dividend, other SOEs to follow editor@romania-insider.com