Nornickel’s board recommends no dividend payment for first time since 2009

Norilsk Nickel’s board of directors has recommended no dividend payments on its full-year 2022 results for the first time since 2009, as it cited “negative geopolitics.”

Norilsk Nickel’s board also took into account factors such as an expected raise in the tax burden and the cost of servicing the firm’s debt portfolio.

The company highlighted the “possible increase in sanctions pressure and a drop in prices for a basket of metals due to a global economic slowdown” as other possible risks.

Still, the board may consider the payment of an interim dividend in case positive cash flow is generated and comfortable debt leverage is maintained, Nornickel said.

“This was a difficult decision, which was driven by extraordinary circumstances,” Sergey Malyshev, Nornickel’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“The external environment has not only led to a worsening of the company’s financial condition, but has also put Nornickel into conditions of a high degree of uncertainty.”