LUKOIL ups 2011 dividend to 19% net profit
Shareholders in Russia's largest private oil company LUKoil voted to pay dividends for 2011 worth of total of 63.792 billion rubles ($1.923 billion), or 19.13 percent of the company's US GAAP net profit, LUKoil said in a statement on Wednesday.
The company will pay dividends for last year at 75 rubles ($2.30) per share, up from 59 rubles ($1.78) in 2010. The company's net profit for 2011 grew 15 percent on the previous year to $10.357 billion.
LUKoil Vice President Leonid Fedun has said the company could double dividends in the next few years, while LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov did not rule out a long-term 300 percent dividend increase from the 2011 level, with the help of rising oil production and innovative development of the company.
The shareholders also adjusted the company's charter to allow dividends to possibly be paid for the first quarter, the first half and for the first nine months of the fiscal year. Currently, LUKoil only pays annual dividends.
Source: http://en.rian.ru/
