At an EGM held on 14 September 2017 Moscow Exchange (MOEX) shareholders voted to pay out a total of RUB 5.67 billion (RUB 2.49 per share) as a dividend for the first half of 2017. The payout constitutes 55.04 per cent of the company’s H1 2017 net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
The dividend will be paid by 2 November 2017. The record date is 29 September 2017.
This is the first interim dividend in the history of the company. The recommendation to pay an interim dividend for H1 2017 was made by the Moscow Exchange Supervisory Board on 30 June 2017.
Paying interim dividends allows for more even distribution of cash flow that the company returns to shareholders and is expected to facilitate lower share price volatility around the ex-dividend date. Taken together these factors should boost the appeal of the company’s shares to investors.
According to Moscow Exchange’s dividend policy, the company is required to distribute at least 55% of net profit. The company paid out 69.3% of its net profit as dividends for 2016 and 58.2% for 2015.
At the EGM held in absentia, shareholders voted for the first time by remote e-voting facilitated by National Settlement Depository.
The share capital of Moscow Exchange is RUB 2.28 billion. More than 18,000 individuals and around 1,000 legal entities hold the company’s shares. The free float stands at 57.5%, one of the highest among Russian issuers.