O2 to make advance dividend payments if AGM does not take place

Prague, March 31 (CTK) - The board of directors of O2 Czech Republic has decided the telecoms firm will pay out a dividend of Kc17 per share in the form of advance payments if the general meeting does not take place due to the coronavirus measures adopted by the government, the firm said today.

The general meeting is scheduled for April 16. The right to dividend applies to entities that are the company's shareholders as of April 6. The advance payments should be made from May 6 onwards.

Last year, the company paid out a dividend of Kc17 per share and a portion of the share premium at Kc4 per share.

Shareholders may face significant uncertainty if a general meeting cannot be held and a dividend approved as scheduled in a constantly changing situation, the board of directors said.

The company has paid out dividends annually so far, it said.

The board has considered the company's current financial position and the applicable legislation so that shareholders could receive payments under terms that are as close to dividend payment terms as possible, it added.

Advance payments for the share premium cannot be made. Shareholders were supposed to vote on the payment of a portion of the share premium at Kc4 per share.

O2 is the largest provider of telecommunications services on the Czech market. It runs nearly eight million mobile and fixed phone lines at present.

Last year, the company raised revenues by 2 percent to Kc38.76bn. Its net profit increased by a mere 0.2 percent to Kc5.46bn due to investments.

Customer numbers grew in all services, with the biggest rise of more than 100,000 customers recorded by O2 TV. Mobile data consumption posted a 30 percent hike.

nld/er