The board of Directors (BoD) of the Russian oil company Lukoil has recommended the shareholders to decide on dividend payments for 2009 amounted to 52 rubles (USD 1.79) per share, it said in a statement after today’s meeting of the Board. Dividend paid last year (based on financial results for 2008) was the rate of 50 rubles per share. The total amount of the dividend that will distribute Lukoil for this year is expected to be close to 44.23 billion rubles (about 1.52 billion dollars). This amount represents 20.86% of net consolidated profit of the company’s estimated U.S. accounting standard, which is 7.011 billion dollars. Lukoil approved policy provides for distribution of dividends as dividends to be distributed at least 15% of annual net profit.
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The U.S. company Kraft Foods, which is the largest producer of food products in the U.S., please their shareholders with news that its profits had tripled in the last quarter of 2009, a primary source of this impressive growth is the increase in the volume of its sales in developing countries and the rise in the prices of its products forward AP. Its net profit increased to 710 million dollars, or 48 cents a share, in the last quarter of 2009 compared with a positive result of 178 million, or 12 cents per share for the same three months of 2008, Kraft Foods is the second largest food company in the world and one of the 30 largest U.S. companies entering the index of blue chip Dow Jones IA. Market Analysts forecast lower earnings per share from 45 cents. Kraft Foods sales increased by 3.2 percent annually to 11 billion dollars in the quarter in question, which was close to the projected revenue from the market. Company sales in Europe increased by 8% annually, while revenues from sales in developing countries have risen by 11 per cent. The company management plans to turn into Kraft’s largest producer of confectionery in the world. In January, Kraft Foods has been able to obtain the approval of the shareholders of British chocolate maker Cadbury to absorb the company against the amount of 11,5 billion pounds.
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