The Board of Directors of MOL will propose to shareholders at the upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 29 that the profit after tax from last year be fully transferred to reserves, according to a report from the Hungarian oil and gas company published on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
MOL shareholders could thus go without a dividend for the second consecutive year, which was last paid in 2008, from the profit earned in 2007, amounting to 85 billion Hungarian forints, or 40 percent of the profit after tax, reported the Hungarian news agency MTI. The Board will propose that last year’s profit after tax of 253.02 billion Hungarian forints (953.38 million euros) be fully transferred to reserves, as stated further in the same document.
MOL’s management also announced that three of its members, Laszlo Akar, Miklos Kamaras, and Erno Kemenes, as previously announced, will resign from their board membership, which is expected to take effect on the day of the Annual General Meeting on April 29. The Hungarian company further states that it will propose former governor of the Hungarian central bank Zsigmond Jaraija, president of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Laszlo Parragh, and president of the Czech company ČEZ Roman Martin as new board members.
As announced in a separate statement, MOL is preparing to issue bonds denominated in euros, with the timing of the issuance to be determined by market conditions. An unnamed MOL official told Reuters that the proceeds from the planned bond sale will be used for general corporate purposes and to streamline the existing debt portfolio. MOL did not wish to disclose details regarding the amount of the planned issuance. According to Bloomberg, the bond issuance would be in the amount of 750 million euros with a maturity of seven years. (H)
