Shareholders in the Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant (OPP), the country`s major chemical producer, have decided to pay UAH 163.89 million in dividends, or about UAH 0.21 per ordinary share, based on the plant`s performance in 2015, according to the minutes of an extraordinary shareholders meeting, published on the OPP website.
The amount of dividends accounts for 75% of the OPP`s net profit in 2015, with the payments to be made through the depository system of Ukraine in the period from November 1, 2016, to March 15, 2017.
Further, the shareholders decided to allocate up to UAH 21.85 million both for the capital reserve fund and the production development fund. What is more, UAH 6.56 million will be funneled into the social security fund, and UAH 4.37 million into the consumption fund.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the chemical producer owes $193 million to Dmytro Firtash`s Ostchem company with penalties under the debt amounting to $58 million, according to the Stockholm arbitration. Other debts within the country amount to UAH 840 million, which is around $32 million at the current forex rate.
In early August, the OPP halted its operations after Ukrtransgaz said it had not received any confirmation from the supplying company regarding gas deliveries to the OPP to meet its needs for the previous month. On October 4, the OPP resumed operations following the resumption of natural gas supplies by state-owned energy holding Naftogaz of Ukraine.
Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine Ihor Bilous earlier stated that the starting price of the OPP, to be put up for sale at a repeat auction in November, should be reduced to $150 million, taking into account the company`s large debt.
The July 18 auction for the sale of the state-owned stake in the OPP, with a starting price of UAH 13.175 billion (some $520 million), was put on hold due to the lack of interest, as the price of the asset was believed to be overstated.
UNIAN memo. The OPP, which is located in the town of Yuzhny in Odesa, is Ukraine`s second-largest ammonia and carbamide producer and the third-largest manufacturer of nitrogen fertilizers.
The company also handles shipments of chemical products arriving from CIS countries and exports. The company holds a monopoly in the national market of specialized services for the acceptance, cooling and transshipment of ammonia.
