StatoilHydro’s goal is to provide the company’s shareholders with a competitive return on invested capital over time.
Dividend policy
StatoilHydro’s goal is to provide the company’s shareholders with a competitive return on invested capital over time. The return will be achieved through a combination of an increase in the value of the share and dividend.
The company’s dividend policy reads as follows:
“StatoilHydro’s ambition is to pay an increasing ordinary cash dividend measured in NOK per share.
It is also StatoilHydro’s intention, through cash dividends and the repurchase of own shares, to distribute to its shareholders an amount corresponding to 45-50 per cent of the group’s annual profits pursuant to IFRS.
In individual years, however, the sum of the cash dividend and repurchases may amount to a higher or lower percentage of the profit for the year than 45-50 per cent, depending on the company’s assessment of developments in cash flows, investment plans, financing requirements and appropriate financial flexibility.” .
|
Equity
The group’s equity (pro forma) on 31 December 2006 was NOK 232.1 billion, which corresponds to 39.6 per cent of the total capital.
The board considers this to be satisfactory, given the group’s requirement for solidity in relation to its goals, strategy and risk profile.
Pursuant to the company’s Articles of Association (Art. 3), the company’s share capital is NOK 7,971,617,757.50 divided between 188,647,103 shares each with a nominal value of NOK 2.50.
Repurchase programme for own shares
StatoilHydro’s repurchase programme is an integrated part of the company’s dividend policy. The intention of the programme is to give the board an opportunity to exploit the mechanisms provided by the Public Limited Liabilities Act with respect to the distribution of capital to the company’s shareholders. The repurchase of own shares is also an important method of continuously adapting the company and ensuring it has an expedient capital structure. At the annual general meeting of Statoil ASA on 15 May 2007, the board of directors was authorised to purchase up to 50 million own shares at a share price of between NOK 50 and NOK 500. Own shares acquired in accordance with this authorisation may only be used for cancellation through capital reduction. The authorisation is valid until the annual general meeting in 2008.
At the same time, StatoilHydro and the Norwegian state represented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy have entered into an agreement which regulates the redemption and cancellation of a proportionate number of the state’s shares, thus ensuring that the state’s proportional interest will remain unchanged. On the redemption of shares, StatoilHydro will pay a price to the state for each share corresponding to a volume-weighted average of the prices paid by StatoilHydro for shares bought in the market, plus interest compensation of NIBOR +1 percentage point calculated from the date of the individual repurchases.
The purchase of own shares for use in the share savings programme
At the annual general meeting of Statoil ASA on 15 May 2007, StatoilHydro’s board was authorised to acquire shares for the implementation of a share savings programme for its own employees. The authorisation can be used to acquire own shares for a total nominal value of up to NOK 15 million. Shares acquired in accordance with this authorisation may only be used for sale or transfer to employees of the StatoilHydro group as part of the group’s share savings programme as approved by the board.
Published 2007-09-02, 15:03 CET | Updated 2007-10-19, 15:13 CET
