RussNeft owners nod policy to pay $60–110 mln in divs on prefs

MOSCOW, Aug 26 (PRIME) -- The shareholders of Russian oil company RussNeft have approved a dividend policy, under which the company will pay from U.S. $60 million to $110 million in dividends on preferred shares depending on the oil price, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The company will pay at least $60 million in dividends on preferred shares per year, but if the average annual price of the Brent oil is above $65 per barrel, the dividend payout may be raised to $70 million. If the oil price climbs above $70 per barrel, the company may pay up to $80 million. It may pay the maximum amount of $110 million if the Brent oil price stays above $85 per barrel.

The shareholders also approved conditions for conversion of existing cumulative preferred shares into new preferred shares in no later than in 180 days. The owners of the new shares will have the right to receive the same amount of dividends as holders of current shares.

In June, RussNeft’s owners approved paying $0.408 per preferred share, or a total of $40 million, in dividends for 2018. Board of Directors Chairman Mikhail Gutseriyev said then that the company planned to start paying dividends on common shares in the next three years.

National Bank Trust owns all the preferred shares of the company, or 25% of the charter capital. Companies of Gutseriyev own 25% of the charter capital, while Swiss trader Glencore and its subsidiaries own 23%.

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