April 22, 2019. Moscow,
Russia. PJSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: MOEX, LSE:
HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces that the Company's Board of Directors
held in a meeting on April 19, 2019.
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The Board of Directors approved PJSC RusHydro’s
dividend policy.
The Board of Directors supported the management’s
recommendation to change the dividend calculation methodology.
The new provision stipulates for a base scenario
of dividend payout ratio at 50% of the company’s IFRS net profit.
At the same time, a minimal payout level is set at the average amount
of dividends paid over the last three years. Such measure guarantees
shareholders a minimal dividend amount and improves the company’s
investment attractiveness. The changes to the dividend policy will be
in effect for three years.
According to the previous provision of the
dividend policy, the minimal payout ratio was set at 5% of the
Group’s IFRS net profit. Nonetheless, over the last three years,
the company has paid dividends at 50% of its net profit. Total amount
of dividends paid over that period amounted to RUB 46 bn including a
record amount of RUB 19.9 bn in 2017. RusHydro is committed to
long-term dividend growth in the interest of shareholders and
company’s development priorities.
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In order to stabilize the financial condition of
JSC DGK the Board of Directors approved extension of the grace period
on JSC DGK loan provided within the framework of the forward contract
with VTB Bank (PJSC) until March 27, 2021 (inclusive).
***
The Board of Directors was informed of the
company’s corporate governance status in the form of an integrated
report. The Board took into consideration the Group’s corporate
governance evaluation by the company’s internal audit, external
independent corporate governance evaluation as well as
self-assessment of the Group’s Board and noted positive dynamics.
According to the company’s 2018 external audit
evaluation conducted by instruction of the audit committee the
Group’s corporate governance system was considered effective as key
figures are improving.
In September 2018, Russian Institute of Directors,
an independent expert-consulting and training center, upgraded
RusHydro’s corporate governance rating to 8, the highest national
corporate governance rating among participants. RusHydro is also the
first company in the utilities sector to receive such rating. The
following factors were used to evaluate the Group’s corporate
governance: shareholder rights, management’s function, disclosure
of information, social responsibility and sustainable development.
According to results of TopCompetence, an
independent consulting expert, RusHydro has significantly improved
its corporate governance and has entered the top 10 list of Russian
companies ranked by the quality of corporate governance
Self-assessment results of the Group’s Board of
Directors are consistent with the independent evaluation conducted in
2018 with PwC as an independent consultant in terms of strengths and
focus on the company’s continuous development.
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