30 June 2003 06:49
UHM TO PAY DIVIDENDS ONLY ON PREFERRED SHARES
They decided not to pay dividends for common shares.
In 2001, UHM also paid dividends only on preferred shares, of 1.2
Shareholders of United Heavy Machinery (UHM) decided at their AGM to pay dividends for 2002 of 1.2 kopecks for each
preferred share, par value 10 kopecks, Interfax's correspondent reported from the meeting.
kopecks per share.
2002 2001
Revenues 12324,7 10250
Cost of 8370,4 7270,9
As reported earlier, in December 2002, UHM's board of directors approved the policy of not paying dividends on
common shares for three financial years - from 2002 to 2004. UHM said that this policy is dictated by the
corporation's strategic goals for the next 3-5 years, and by the demand for the significant financial resources
needed to achieve them.
EBITDA 1861 1779
Profit 855 858
This policy will allow UHM to stick to the regulations that stipulate it will annually pay fixed dividends on
preferred shares of 12% of the par value.
The main consolidated financial indicators, audited to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) are, in millions of
rubles:
sales
before tax Net profit 686 612
The shareholders also elected a new board of seven directors, which is identical to the one elected a year ago. It
includes: UHM general director Kakha Bendukidze; Alan Kazbekov, board chairman at the Almaz shipyard (UHM); Mikhail
Kosolapov, general director of UHM's oil and gas rig equipment division; Roderick Braithwaite, member of the
advisory board at Sirocco Aerospace; Horst Wiesinger of Horst Wiesinger Consulting GmbH; Vostok Energo Investment
president Seppo Remes, and Internet consultant Mark Weiner.
There were nine candidates for the board. Bendukidze told Interfax there were four independent directors again. He
said independent directors holding 16% of the UHM shares that have been converted into ADRs voted. The Investor
Protection Association (IPA) voted on behalf of ADR holders in 2002.
auditors proposed on the grounds this would better enable UHM to
negotiate a reduction in auditing fees. ZAO Pro-Invest-Audit was
Foreign portfolio investors own about 42% of the shares in UHM, company management 35%, Russian institutional
investors 9% and Russian private individuals 3%. The reserve shares fund holds 11%.
The shareholders amended the company charter which now gives a precise definition as to what an independent director
is. The revised charter also states that the board must include at least three independent directors, who must
constitute at least a quarter of the board members.
The shareholders approved a new statute on the AGM, which expands concepts related to corporate transparency. They
did not, though, name a company to audit the consolidated statement to international standards. Bendukidze said he asked
the shareholders to vote against each of four
selected to audit UHM to Russian standards.
UHM designs, engineers, produces, markets and services knowledge intensive equipment and machinery along six major
lines (business segments): oil and gas rig equipment, equipment for nuclear power plants, metallurgical equipment,
mining equipment, shipbuilding, and specialty steels. The corporation comprises a number of companies, including
Uralmashzavod, Izhora Works, and others. UHM's charter capital is 3.81 million rubles, divided into 35.35 million
common shares and 2.75 million preferred shares, par value 10 kopecks.
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