PKN's pay day
Last week saw shareholders in oil refiner PKN Orlen vote for 40 percent of last year's profits to be paid as a dividend. Management had wanted to retain the cash for investment, but the little pesky people, led by PKN's biggest shareholder, the government, had other ideas.
This means a payday worth some zł.910 million, or about zł.2.13 per share, an increase of zł.0.65 on 2003's earnings. The dividend will be split in two and paid out on September 1 and December 1.
The Treasury is looking for cash to shore up the budget and has a 33 percent stake in the company.
PKN posted a record net profit of zł.2.28 billion last year but earmarked only 30 percent for the dividend, or zł.684 million, as management said it needed cash for investment.
"We accept all shareholders' decisions, but at the same time we maintain our long-term policy of paying 30 percent of profits as a dividend in the coming years," chief executive Igor Chalupec told shareholders.
"Last year was very good for us and this year may also be very good, but we must remember that the time of prosperity will not last forever ... right now there are some [acquisition] opportunities," he said.
PKN, one of Poland's biggest companies, said last week it was looking at potential acquisitions in the Baltics and the Balkans as opportunities in its own Central European markets dry up. It has bought 63 percent of Czech peer UniPetrol and last week placed a bid for a majority stake in Turkey's Tupras.
Shareholders also dodged a vote on a proposal to cap voting rights of all individual shareholders at 20 percent, after the state warned it would block the motion until a new law takes effect giving it veto power at certain strategic companies. (Reuters)
This means a payday worth some zł.910 million, or about zł.2.13 per share, an increase of zł.0.65 on 2003's earnings. The dividend will be split in two and paid out on September 1 and December 1.
The Treasury is looking for cash to shore up the budget and has a 33 percent stake in the company.
PKN posted a record net profit of zł.2.28 billion last year but earmarked only 30 percent for the dividend, or zł.684 million, as management said it needed cash for investment.
"We accept all shareholders' decisions, but at the same time we maintain our long-term policy of paying 30 percent of profits as a dividend in the coming years," chief executive Igor Chalupec told shareholders.
"Last year was very good for us and this year may also be very good, but we must remember that the time of prosperity will not last forever ... right now there are some [acquisition] opportunities," he said.
PKN, one of Poland's biggest companies, said last week it was looking at potential acquisitions in the Baltics and the Balkans as opportunities in its own Central European markets dry up. It has bought 63 percent of Czech peer UniPetrol and last week placed a bid for a majority stake in Turkey's Tupras.
Shareholders also dodged a vote on a proposal to cap voting rights of all individual shareholders at 20 percent, after the state warned it would block the motion until a new law takes effect giving it veto power at certain strategic companies. (Reuters)
