During today's annual meeting, Gazprom Neft shareholders approved the payment of RUB 5.4 (approx. USD 0.23) per common share as a dividend for 2007, RBC reports. The total payout for that year is expected to reach RUB 25.6bn (approx. USD 1.08bn). The company paid a dividend of RUB 8.08 (approx. USD 0.34) per share for 2006, with the total payout amounting to RUB 38.3bn (approx. USD 1.62bn).
In late April, Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov told journalists that the company was likely to decrease the share of net profit paid as a dividend for 2007 from 40 percent to 20-25 percent.