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Rostelecom, Gazprom news briefs

By Finam

- The Rostelecom BoD has decided to delist ADRs for company shares from the NYSE, the company said in a statement on December 11. The motive behind the decision is that the listing has been incurring the operator a lot of expenses, both directly and in terms of administrative workload. In view of the delisting, the operator will stop disclosing its financials to the US regulator’s standards (20K, 6K and other forms). Rostelecom has voiced plans to ensure investors access to its ADRs on the over-the-counter market.

- It became known on December 11 that Gazprom is looking to boost dividend payments over the next three years. In 2010, the company intends to pay a dividend of RUB 1.86 per share. The dividend is to be raised to RUB 4.10 per share in 2011, and to RUB 4.72 in 2012. However, dividend growth is likely to stay within the limits of the company’s previous dividend policy and can only be driven by a rise in its non-consolidated RAS net income. Consolidation of Gazprom Neft on head company books should also contribute to this.

This year, Gazprom has paid out a mere RUB 0.36 per share in dividends, which corresponded to a 0.2% dividend yield on the dividend calculation date. We note that the company has noticeably deviated from its dividend policy during the crisis, mainly under pressure from the state. The targeted dividend payouts for the next three years imply an increase in the dividend yield on Gazprom shares to around 2%-3%, which is still a disagreeable level for investors who buy shares in the hope of a lucrative dividend yield.