ČEZ to pay shareholders a dividend of CZK 42 per share, distribute CZK 23bn in total

Energy company ČEZ will pay its shareholders a dividend from last year's adjusted profit of CZK 42 per share. It will distribute a total of CZK 23bn among shareholders, with the state, as the majority shareholder, receiving around CZK 16bn. This was decided by the group's general meeting today, which approved ČEZ's board proposal. The dividend amounts to 80 percent of the company's adjusted profit for last year.

This year, the general meeting approved ČEZ's board proposal, which was at the upper end of ČEZ's current dividend payout ratio. This stands at 60 to 80 percent of adjusted profit. ČEZ paid the same proportion last year. In 2023, by contrast, shareholders approved a counterproposal from the Finance Ministry to pay out 100 percent of adjusted profit. This year, the ministry, which represents the state in its role as shareholder, did not submit its own counterproposal. The dividend will be payable from 3 August, in the usual timeframe.

One of the minority shareholders submitted a counterproposal to pay a dividend of CZK 50 per share. The board did not agree, saying such a payout would exceed the dividend policy and could jeopardise the company's credit rating. As the board's proposal was approved, the general meeting did not vote on the counterproposal.

"The market had expected a dividend of CZK 42 per share, so its approval did not trigger any movement in the share price. Given the current market price, the dividend yield is around 3.3 percent, so it is not particularly impressive," Cyrrus portfolio manager Tomáš Pfeiler told ČTK.

"The CZK 42 per-share dividend is the lowest in recent years. The last time the dividend was lower was in 2019, when it stood at CZK 34 per share. Since then, it has always been above CZK 45," XTB analyst Tomáš Maxa noted.

Last year, following approval of the board's proposal, ČEZ paid a dividend of CZK 47 per share. This totalled CZK 25.2bn, of which the state received CZK 17.6bn.

ČEZ began paying dividends in 2000, following the completion of the Temelín nuclear power plant. So far, it has paid CZK 499.5bn, or almost half a trillion crowns, to its shareholders. The state received CZK 349.7bn of that amount. The company's highest-ever dividend, CZK 145 per share, was paid in 2023. This was due to the high adjusted net profit that ČEZ recorded during the 2022 energy crisis. At the state's proposal, the company then paid out its full profit of CZK 78bn.

ČEZ earned CZK 27.4bn last year. The company's net profit fell year on year by CZK 1.7bn, or 5.8 percent.