Investors split over how much Polkomtel's profit should be used as dividend

The largest Polish shareholders of Polkomtel, the owner of mobile phone operator Plus, are unanimous about their intention of dividing this year's profit generated by the firm. A precedence was set last year when Polkomtel's shareholders divided among themselves around half of the operator's profit of zł. 515 million. "We expect this year's dividend will be as attractive as the one from 2002. We do not want to consume Polkomtel's entire profit, as this would hinder its further expansion," said Zbigniew Wróbel president of PKN Orlen, which owns approximately a 20% stake in the operator. On the other hand, Stanisław Speczik, the president of copper miner KGHM, has more radical views. He believes there is no need to leave Polkomtel with any of its profit as it has "sufficient financial resources". The net profit generated by Polkomtel for the last three quarters amounted to zł. 544 million. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) A.Z.