Despite a challenging external environment and solid investment plans, Russian metals producer Nornickel stuck to its dividends policy, showing financial resilience after excellent commercial results in 2021.
At its meeting on Friday, Nornickel’s board of directors recommended the company’s annual shareholders meeting, which will be held remotely on June 3, to approve dividends for 2021 in the amount of 1,166 rubles per share, the company said.
This puts the total dividends at $2.4 billion at the current official exchange rate.
Earlier, the company announced dividends in the amount of $3.2 billion at current rates at the time of the announcement for the first three quarters of 2021. In total, the company will return about $5.6 billion to shareholders for the last year.
The metals giant, largely unaffected by Western sanctions, remains attractive for foreign investors, and Nornickel recently confirmed plans to leave them the opportunity to invest in its shares by applying to maintain the listing of depository receipts on the London Stock Exchange.
The company boasted record earnings of $18 billion (up 15% year-on-year) and EBITDA of $10.5 billion (up 37% year-on-year) in 2021.
Its investment plans, primarily focused on solving environmental problems and boosting production of key metals by 25-30%, amount to 2.5 trillion rubles through 2030.
Shareholders may register to take part in the annual meeting until May 11, and to apply for dividends until June 14.
