Serbian oil company NIS , majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft, plans to lower its full-year dividend by 32.1% to 27.14 Serbian dinars ($0.2539) per share, it said in a statement.
NIS, one of the biggest contributors to Serbia’s budget, managed a profit of 17.7 billion dinars for 2019, but its profits were 30% lower following an overhaul of its main refinery in Pancevo.
For the first quarter of 2020, it reported a loss of 1.1 billion dinars as it faces the challenge of weakened oil markets and a collapse in fuel demand following lockdown travel restrictions to contain the novel coronavirus.
Some companies have axed dividends to preserve cash, but there is an industry-wide reluctance to deter investors, who were already worried about financial exposure to fossil fuel for climate reasons before the coronavirus emerged as a threat.
NIS operates two refineries, plus oilfields in Serbia, Bosnia, Romania and Angola. ($1 = 106.9100 Serbian dinars)
(Reuters, May 27, 2020)
