OREANDA-NEWS. February 28 2011. Ukrnafta, the largest oil & gas producer in Ukraine, held its AGM on Feb 25 to approve the distribution of a 30% (UAH 793mn) of the company’s net income for FY10 in dividends within the limit imposed by the law, which implies a DPS of UAH 14.6 and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The AGM also assigned Peter Vanhecke, the former Managing Director at Renaissance Capital in Ukraine and CEE, as the new CEO of Uknafta dismissing Oleksiy Kusch, who was close to Pryvat Group.

Millennium Capital considers the news as POSITIVE for UNAF. We point out that the AGM conduct and decisions approved confirm there is a tangible agreement between the principal shareholders, Ukrainian government (51%) and Pryvat Group (42%). It still remains to be seen whether the new CEO will manage to stay unbiased in the future but the management change looks supportive. Meanwhile, we expect the EGM sheluded for Mar 2011 to further test the longevity of the concord between the shareholders.