CEZ opens markedly stronger, trading at Kc1,070/share around 12:30

Prague, June 19 (CTK) - Energy group CEZ opened today's trading on the Prague bourse (BCPP) with a significant rise, which was then slightly corrected, and around 12:30 it was 2.7 percent higher at Kc1,070 per share, compared to Friday's closing value, Purple Trading analyst Petr Lajsek told CTK.

Around 16:00, CEZ showed a daily rise of 2.5 percent to Kc1,068.

The reason for the increase was Friday's counterproposal of the Finance Ministry for dividend payment in the amount of Kc145 per share, while the company's management had earlier proposed Kc117 per unit. By 16:00 today, some 313,000 CEZ shares worth about Kc336m had changed hands.

The increased demand for CEZ shares is no surprise, said Lajsek. CEZ holds the general meeting next Monday and the Finance Ministry's proposal for a higher dividend is likely to be approved, Lajsek said.

According to him, not only the state, which holds almost 70 percent of the shares, will vote for it, but also many minority shareholders, who will receive the highest dividend so far.

On Saturday night, information emerged that on Friday, just before the stock exchange closed and the Finance Ministry made a statement on the price of CEZ shares, someone bought shares for Kc250m. Friday's rise in CEZ shares just before the close of the session was described by some experts as the so-called insider trading, Lajsek said, referring to the ministry's counterproposal.

After the markets closed on Friday, the ministry filed a request for a significantly higher than proposed dividend of Kc145 per share. This would be an equivalent to 100 percent of adjusted profit.

"There was no insider trading, nor did the rebalancing of the index seem to have affected the stock. The so-called "triple witching", which is the expiration of financial derivatives such as futures and options, was behind Friday's activity on shares of CEZ. These have caused increased activity on the CEZ stock and the index as a whole," said Lajsek.

"It was nothing exceptional, just the announced regular rebalancing of the PX indices. Such volumes normally occur at the end of trading during rebalancing," BCPP spokesman Jiri Kovarik told CTK.

In total, CEZ should pay Kc78bn in dividends, with the state to receive Kc54bn, he added. Shareholders who buy CEZ shares no later than the day before the so-called ex-date will be entitled to the dividend. This falls on June 29, 2023 for the Prague Stock Exchange and on July 3, 2023 for the off-exchange market organiser RM-system.

vr,hel/er

CZ0005112300
CZ0009009718