The logo of Gazprom says that dreams come true. Indeed, the Russian gas behemoth seems to be eager to realize the dreams of its shareholders. Despite sluggish performance in the previous fiscal year, the company’s management stays positive. It proposed increasing the dividends to 16.61 rubles per share which is 1.6 times more than the amount offered in April.
If the board of directors adheres to this recommendation, then the dividends will be more than doubled in size comparing to 2017. Neither the crisis nor the sanctions and a crash of the Russian economy will be obstacles for Gazprom in the way to paying extra-large dividends. “The Management Committee reviewed and endorsed the new proposals to the Board of Directors regarding the distribution of Gazprom's profit and the dividend payout based on the Company's operating results for 2018. The Management Committee proposed that the dividends make up RUB 393.2 billion, or RUB 16.61 per share,” the official website says. The news triggered a surge in Gazprom shares, pushing the quotes to the 7-year highs. The stocks broke the psychological level of 200 rubles per share. The prices skyrocketed by 20% in merely two days.
In fact, Gazprom has ambitious plans. In 2018, the management proposed paying 10.43 rubles per share which is 246.9 billion rubles or 17% of revenue in total. This sum is by far generous dividends. And now the payout is going to be even bigger. The net profit of Gazprom that was calculated in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards doubled to 1 456 trillion rubles in 2018. This way, if the dividends come at 16.6 rubles per share, then the total payout will amount to 27% of the revenue.
