Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has criticized the decision of Kyiv’s district administrative court that suspended a decision of the Cabinet of Ministers obliging NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy to send Hr 12.25 billion to pay dividends, which is 90 percent of the company’s net profit for 2018.
“Recently, one of the judges of Ukraine decided on the claims of several state-owned companies, for example, Naftogaz, to stop transferring nearly Hr 15 billion of dividends to the country’s budget by Naftogaz Ukrainy,” he said, expressing dissatisfaction with the decision at a government meeting on July 5.
Earlier, on July 3, Chairman of Executive Board of Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev said that the company paid dividends to the national budget in the amount of 30 percent of its net profit for 2018, while the government resolution, which sets a 90 percent dividend payment standard for Naftogaz, suspended by a court decision.
Kobolev said that after attracting additional financial resources or completing gas pumping in the underground gas storage (UGS) facilities Naftogaz will be ready to increase the payment of dividends.
Kobolev reminded that the company, preparing for the winter, in the conditions of possible interruption of gas transit by Gazprom from Jan. 1, 2020, intends to pump additional volumes of gas into underground storage facilities, bringing them to the beginning of the heating season up to 20 billion cubic meters. To complete the task Naftogaz need to additionally find about $600 million in the shortest possible time. At the same time, any break in the pumping will make a target of 20 billion cubic meters physically unattainable.
As reported, Naftogaz Ukrainy, as a separate legal entity, in 2018 reduced its net profit by 64.3 percent (by Hr 2.532 billion) compared to 2017, to Hr 13.613 billion.
