Gazprom Shareholders to Receive Record-breaking $6bn Dividend Payout

Gazprom shareholders are set to benefit the most so far from owning shares of the Russian state-controlled giant, as it announced a record dividends payout, EADaily reports.

Gazprom’s shareholders will be paid 383.2 billion rubles ($6 billion), or 27 percent of 2018 net profits in dividends, the company said after its annual shareholders’ meeting Friday.

“This dividend amount is the largest in the history of the company,” the company said in a statement.

The gas major is a lynchpin of Russia’s commodity-reliant economy, with its sales accounting for more than 5 percent of the country’s $1.6 trillion annual gross domestic product.

For the past several years, Russia’s Finance Ministry has been pushing for state-owned enterprises to pay out at least 50 percent of their profits as dividends, meeting stiff resistance from businesses.

“According to the company’s 2018 results, the board of directors proposes to pay record dividends in the amount of 16.61 rubles per share, directing it to 27% of profit under IFRS. In ruble terms, this corresponds to a dividend increase of more than double compared with last year,” Gazprom head Alexei Miller said.

According to RBC, half of Gazprom’s dividends this year, or 190 billion rubles ($3 billion), will go to Russia’s state budget. The payouts are expected to be issued next month. 

Last year, Gazprom paid 8.04 rubles per share on its 2017 profits.