Polymetal International plc (LON:POLY) has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company has recommended the payment of a final dividend of US$ 0.89 per share for the year ended 31 December 2020.
Dividend declaration
The Board proposed a final dividend of US$ 0.89 per share (approx. US$ 419 million), which comprises US$ 0.74 per share representing 50% of underlying net earnings for the 2H 2020 and a discretionary part of US$ 0.15 per share to make the total dividend for 2020 equal 100% of the full-year free cash flow, in accordance with the updated dividend policy. This will bring the total dividend declared for the FY 2020 to the historical record level of US$ 1.29 per share (an increase of 57% versus US$ 0.82 for 2019) or US$ 608 million in total (2019: US$ 385 million). Based on the average share price for 2020, dividend yield for the year stays at 6.3% and 5-year average dividend yield at 5%, which remain one of the highest levels in the industry.
The decision to distribute 100% of the free cash flow to shareholders was underpinned by the strong balance sheet (Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA of 0.8x, significantly below the target level of 1.5x and hard ceiling ratio of less than 2.5x), excellent underlying business performance despite COVID-related challenges and confidence in the Company’s ability to maintain a very comfortable balance sheet position after dividend payment, not putting any projects or FY 2021 dividends at risk. The Board will continue to exercise careful judgement in making next discretionary dividend decision in 2022 for FY 2021, taking into account both backward-looking and forward-looking factors.
The final dividend will be subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on 26 April 2021. Assuming shareholder approval is received, the dividend will be paid on 28 May 2021 in US Dollars, with an option for shareholders to elect to receive the dividend in pounds sterling or euro. Such an election should be made no later than 11 May 2021. Payments in pounds sterling and euro will be based on the USD/GBP and USD/EUR exchange rates determined by the Company on 14 May 2021 and announced immediately thereafter.
Details
EX DIV DATE: 06 May 2021
RECORD DATE: 07 May 2021
LAST DATE FOR CURRENCY ELECTION: 11 May 2021
PAYMENT DATE: 28 May 2021
Polymetal International issued share capital comprises 471,818,000 ordinary shares.
