Latvia's Ventspils Nafta not to pay dividends for 1999 operations

  • 2000-08-17
VENTSPILS (BNS) - The shareholders of oil terminal Ventspils Nafta on Aug.10 decided not to pay dividends from the previous year's profit. The decision was supported by 51.91 percent of VN shareholders. The shareholders did not back a proposal to pay in dividends 0.02 lats or 0.0235 lats per share.

Thus the entire profit of VN earned in 1999 will be channeled into the company's development and used in accordance with VN's budget and investment program. VN's net profit in 1999 was 16.264 million lats ($26.57 million) on a net turnover of 45.86 million lats. The representative of the Latvian Privatization Agency (LPA) was instructed to vote against non-payment of dividends for 1999 operations.

But the non-payment of dividends was supported by Latvijas Naftas Tranzits, the biggest private shareholder of VN.

LPA previously had decided to call on LNT to pay the earlier planned 15 percent of the profit in dividends or 0.023 lats per share.

VN's shares are quoted on the official list of the Riga Stock Exchange. The company has a total of 104.5 million shares, of which 60.3 million shares are traded publicly.

From the profits of 1998 and 1997 the company paid 0.03 lats per share in dividends, while from 1996 profit the dividends amounted to 0.13 lats per share.