UPDATE2: Russia rules Transneft pay 100% of RAS net profit in divs

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ODINTSOVO, Moscow Region/MOSCOW, Jun 3 (PRIME) -- The Russian government has signed a directive for oil pipeline monopoly Transneft to pay 100% of its net profit calculated under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) in dividends for 2015, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters Friday.

“The government directive on Transneft’s dividends of 100% (of the net profit under RAS) has been signed,” he said.

Novak also said that dividends on preferred shares will account for 10% of the company’s net profit, as stipulated by its charter.

Earlier on Friday, Transneft CEO Nikolai Tokarev said the company’s board of directors will meet until the end of June to discuss dividends.

“(The meeting of the board of directors to discuss dividends) should be held until the end of June, we already have (a dividend ruling from the government). We will follow the ruling that was signed by the government,” he said.

The government has recently adjusted dividend payment rules for state companies obliging them to take the highest figure of a net profit for 2015 – under RAS or under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – and allocate no less than 50% of the net profit for dividends.

Transneft’s RAS net profit rose 8.6% to 12.8 billion rubles in 2015, while its net profit under IFRS soared to 143.427 billion rubles in 2015 from 60 billion rubles in 2014.

(66.7491 rubles – U.S. $1)

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