GV Gold approves new dividend policy to keep dividends high

MOSCOW, Apr 28 (PRIME) -- Russian gold producer GV Gold has approved a new dividend policy to keep the high payouts and will calculate dividends on the basis of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) starting from the dividends for 2017, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

GV Gold set the target level of dividends at 30% of EBITDA if the net debt to EBITDA ratio is below 2.5. But if the ratio stands at between 2.5 and 4.0 over the past 12 months, the board of directors will be allowed to approve dividends of up to 20% of EBITDA taking into account other financial factors. If the ratio stays above 4.0, the company would pay no dividends.

The board may also consider payment of special dividends taking into account the company’s liquidity, capital expenditures, and the share of own and borrowed money. All dividends will be calculated on financial reports under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Before 2018, the company paid dividends of no less than 25% of the net profit calculated under Russian Accounting Standards. It paid 2.179 billion rubles in dividends for 2016.

Board members Sergei Dokuchayev, Valerian Tikhonov, and Natalya Opaleva each hold 20.36% in the company. BlackRock investment fund owns 17.99%, Brishurt Ltd has 6.37%, the company’s subsidiary SAKHA Gold Mining has 5.26%, and minorities of 6.35%.

(62.7260 rubles – U.S. $1)

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