Dividend Declaration

RNS Number : 8216Y

Polymetal International PLC

04 December 2014

 



Release time	IMMEDIATE
Date	4 December 2014

Polymetal International plc

Board approves special dividend of US$0.20 per share and refines dividend policy     

Polymetal International plc (LSE, MOEX: POLY, ADR: AUCOY) (together with its subsidiaries - "Polymetal", the "Company", or the "Group") is pleased to announce that on 3 December 2014 the Board of Directors of the Company approved a special dividend of US$0.20 per share for the year ending 31 December 2014 and refined the policy for payment of regular dividends.

Dividend declaration

In accordance with the Company's dividend policy, the Directors of Polymetal, having considered the performance of the Group during the year to date, available free cash flows and future investment requirements, have resolved to pay a special dividend of US$0.20 per ordinary share, representing approximately US$84 million, which brings total declared dividends for the year to US$0.28 per share or US$118 million (representing an annual dividend yield of 3.0%¹).

The Board determined that it is appropriate to return excess cash to shareholders and reinforce the Company's commitment to capital discipline. The decision was taken against the backdrop of continued significant devaluation of the Russian Rouble against the US Dollar and a strong operating performance across all mines which together have resulted in the increased free cash flow generation of the Group. The Board decision is also underpinned by the Company's robust liquidity position and comfortable leverage, which is expected to remain below 2.0x Net debt/ Adjusted EBITDA after payment of the proposed special dividend. Polymetal's projected capital spending in 2015 will be light and the Board has sufficient comfort that the Company has the requisite flexibility to finance the investment projects (including Kyzyl) going forward.

Details

The special dividend will be paid on 23 January 2015 in US Dollars, with an option for shareholders to elect to receive the dividend in pounds sterling. Such election should be made not later than 22 December 2014. Payments in pounds sterling will be based on the US$/GBP exchange rate determined by the Company on 23 December 2014 and announced immediately thereafter.

EX DIV DATE:                                                18 December 2014

RECORD DATE:                                            19 December 2014

LAST DATE FOR CURRENCY ELECTION:       22 December 2014

PAYMENT DATE:                                           23 January 2015

The Company's issued share capital includes 420,819,943 ordinary shares.

 

Refined regular dividend policy

The Company's current dividend policy is to pay out regular dividends in the amount of 30% of the Company's net earnings provided that Net debt / adjusted EBITDA is below 1.75x. The Board has re-emphasised that it remains at the Board's full discretion to act flexibly with regards to shareholder dividends should the self-imposed leverage covenant of 1.75x Net debt / adjusted EBITDA be exceeded.

Due to the significant movement in currency markets, the Board has decided that the target payout ratio of 30% of the Company's net earnings should be adjusted for non-cash foreign exchange gains/losses and impairment charges ("Underlying net earnings").

The amount of the final dividend for the year will be reviewed by the Board in due course in accordance with the refined policy and recommended to shareholders for their approval at the Annual General Meeting in 2015.

Hedging policy

The Board reviewed the Company's hedging policy and approved the continued application of the existing no-hedge approach going forward.

"We are pleased to declare the second special dividend in the Company's history which reaffirms our commitment to capital discipline and is a result of the solid operating and financial results of the Group achieved to date despite macroeconomic headwinds. We remain fully committed to the delivery of our development projects, while the refinement of our dividend payout ratio underscores our commitment to regular and sustainable cash distributions to our shareholders", said Vitaly Nesis, CEO of Polymetal

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¹ Include the interim dividend of US$0.08 per share for 1H 2014 and the special dividend of US$0.20 per share. Based on average share price for the eleven months of 2014.

Enquiries

Media		Investor Relations
Instinctif Partners Leonid Fink Tony Friend	[phone]	Polymetal Maxim Nazimok Evgenia Onuschenko Elena Revenko	[e-mail] [phone] (Russia) [phone] (UK)
Joint Corporate Brokers
Morgan Stanley Bill Hutchings Sam McLennan	[phone]	RBC Europe Limited Darrell Uden Jonny Hardy	[phone]

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

THIS RELEASE MAY INCLUDE STATEMENTS THAT ARE, OR MAY BE DEEMED TO BE, "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS". THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS SPEAK ONLY AS AT THE DATE OF THIS RELEASE. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY THE USE OF FORWARD-LOOKING TERMINOLOGY, INCLUDING THE WORDS "TARGETS", "BELIEVES", "EXPECTS", "AIMS", "INTENDS", "WILL", "MAY", "ANTICIPATES", "WOULD", "COULD" OR "SHOULD" OR SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS OR, IN EACH CASE THEIR NEGATIVE OR OTHER VARIATIONS OR BY DISCUSSION OF STRATEGIES, PLANS, OBJECTIVES, GOALS, FUTURE EVENTS OR INTENTIONS.  THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ALL INCLUDE MATTERS THAT ARE NOT HISTORICAL FACTS. BY THEIR NATURE, SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS INVOLVE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS BEYOND THE COMPANY'S CONTROL THAT COULD CAUSE THE ACTUAL RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMPANY TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM FUTURE RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON NUMEROUS ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING THE COMPANY'S PRESENT AND FUTURE BUSINESS STRATEGIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE COMPANY WILL OPERATE IN THE FUTURE. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE NOT GUARANTEES OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE. THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE THE COMPANY'S ACTUAL RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE EXPRESSED IN SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. THE COMPANY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY OBLIGATION OR UNDERTAKING TO DISSEMINATE ANY UPDATES OR REVISIONS TO ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN TO REFLECT ANY CHANGE IN THE COMPANY'S EXPECTATIONS WITH REGARD THERETO OR ANY CHANGE IN EVENTS, CONDITIONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES ON WHICH ANY SUCH STATEMENTS ARE BASED.

 

END

 

 

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