OAO
LUKOIL held its Annual General Shareholders Meeting in Moscow today to approve
2006 annual report and financial statements based on the fiscal year
results.
The
shareholders approved dividend distribution based on the Company’s performance
in 2006 in the amount of 38 rubles per ordinary share (33 rubles in 2005).
Amendments to the Company’s Charter and to Regulations on the Procedure for
Preparing and Holding the Annual General Shareholders Meeting were ratified at
the meeting.
The
meeting also approved a resolution on authorized ordinary shares in the amount
of 85 mln shares, with
the nominal value of 0.025 RUR each. The
resolution enables the Board of Directors to decide whenever necessary upon the
issue of additional shares to be used in asset acquisition transactions.
The
size of remuneration and compensation of expenses to members of the Board of
Directors and the Audit Commission was also approved. ZAO KPMG was recognized as
LUKOIL’s independent auditor. The Annual General Shareholders Meeting also
elected the Board of Directors and the Audit Commission and approved
interested-party
transactions.
The
meeting also approved OAO LUKOIL’s membership in the SWIFT Russian National
Association.
The following Board of Directors was elected by the
shareholders:
|
1. |
Vagit
Yu. Alekperov |
President
of OAO LUKOIL |
|
2. |
Mikhail
P. Berezhnoi |
General
Director of the Non-State Pension Fund LUKOIL-GARANT |
|
3 |
Donald
Evert Wallette, Jr. |
President
of Russia/Caspian Region, ConocoPhillips |
|
4. |
Valery
I. Grayfer |
General
Director of OAO RITEK |
|
5. |
Oleg
Ye. Kutafin |
Rector
of the Moscow State Academy of Law |
|
6. |
Ravil
U. Maganov |
First
Executive Vice-President of OAO LUKOIL |
|
7. |
Richard
H. Matzke |
former
Vice-Chairman of Chevron Corporation |
|
8. |
Sergei
A. Mikhailov |
General Director of OOO Management-Consulting |
|
9. |
Nikolai
A. Tsvetkov |
Member
of the Supervisory Board of OAO
URALSIB |
|
10. |
Igor
V. Sherkunov |
Chairman
of the Board of Directors of ZAO Investitsionnaya Gruppa Kapital |
|
11. |
Alexander
N. Shokhin |
President
of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) |
Valery
Grayfer, General Director of OAO RITEK, was elected Chairman of the newly
elected Board of Directors at the Meeting of the Board of Directors held after
the Annual General Shareholders Meeting.
Addressing
the shareholders, Valery Grayfer,
Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Vagit Alekperov, President of OAO
LUKOIL, pointed out among other things
that in 2006 the Company marked its 15th anniversary reaching its
all-time high in terms of operational and financial results. Net profit
of LUKOIL Group in 2006 amounted to 7,484 mln USD, which exceeds 2005 net profit
by 16.2%. Rate of return on invested capital reached 21.5%. In 2006 OAO LUKOIL
share price rose by 48.1%. The Company is constantly raising dividend yields. At
the end of 2006 dividends reached 38 rubles (1.47 USD) per share, which secures
the dividend yield at 1.8% and accounts for 16.8% of net profit. Total
shareholder benefit in 2006 reached 50.1%. Moreover, OAO LUKOIL launched
repurchase of own stock worth more than 3 bln USD, which will also increase the
shareholder benefit. In 2006 the Company spent over 782 mln USD to repurchase
own stock.
2006
was a year of highly favorable global and internal market environment. However,
under the Russian legislation most of the export earnings increment received
with the oil price exceeding 25 USD/bbl, was levelled off by high export duties
and mineral extraction tax. Therefore, operations excellence in all LUKOIL Group
business segments was the main factor contributing to operational and financial
growth.
In
the Upstream segment the Company’s efforts were focused on increasing production
output and providing sustainable long-term production growth by building up the
resource base. In 2006 oil production output of LUKOIL Group grew by 5.8% and
amounted to 1,926 thousand bbl/day (95,235 mln tn), commercial gas output grew
by 141.6%
and
amounted to 219
thousand
boe/day (13,612 bln
cu
m). Commercial hydrocarbons output in 2006 became the Company’s all-time high
and amounted to 234
thousand boe/day.
In
2006 the Company was successfully building up its resource potential by
developing geological exploration and making acquisitions. The largest
acquisition in 2006 was production assets of Marathon
Oil Corporation, an American company, in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area. OAO
LUKOIL continued to expedite commissioning of new reserves. Production was
launched at 11 fields in
almost all of the Company’s areas of operation. Large potential fields in the
Northern Caspian Sea, in Timan-Pechora, the Bolshekhetskaya
Depression fields and Uzbekistan continued to undergo preparation for
development. The
Company has been fully making up for hydrocarbon production by increasing proven
reserves for seven years in a row now.
In
2006 LUKOIL
was successfully implementing its gas program, which is one of the main factors
contributing to the Company’s sustainable growth viewed from a long-term
perspective. In 2006 gas share in total commercial hydrocarbon output more than
doubled, reaching from 4.8% to 10.2% with the strategic target set at 33%. Such
a considerable growth is accounted for by the fact that production in the
Nakhodka field almost reached its estimated level.
In
2006, as
part of its geographic diversification strategy, OAO LUKOIL
has been dynamically developing the international sector of the
Upstream business segment. The Company achieved
considerable success in implementing current projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Saudi Arabia and Columbia. The share of international projects in the Company’s
total commercial hydrocarbon output grew from 5.3 to 6.4%. Moreover,
OAO
LUKOIL
launched operations in Africa after acquiring a share in PSA for exploration and
production in Côte d'Ivoire shelf and signing memorandums of cooperation with
the state oil and gas companies in Algeria and Angola.
In
the Downstream business segment the Company set a high priority on upgrading its
facilities, seeking opportunities to build up refining capacities and develop
its retail network. Refining output at own refineries of LUKOIL Group grew by
3.4% and amounted to 48.9 mln tn. High refining margins in Russia and Europe
were in part to account for it. The Company was able to offset its refining
facilities deficit caused by Odessa refinery shutdown for reconstruction in the
second half of 2005, by using third-party refineries, its output in 2006 grew by
75.2% and amounted to 5.0 mln tn.
In
2006 LUKOIL significantly expanded its retail network
by signing a contract with ConocoPhillips on the purchase of 376 highly
efficient filling stations in six European countries. A share in the network of
100 gas filling stations in Udmurtia was also purchased. Moreover, LUKOIL
launched operations in Macedonia where 40 filling
stations are to be constructed in four years. The Company’s
retail
network is not only being expanded but is
also being improved in terms of its
efficiency.
It resulted in increased sales volume per filling
station, reaching 7.2 tn per day.
In
2006 LUKOIL Group continued to enhance cooperation with ConocoPhillips. The
American company increased its share in OAO LUKOIL charter capital to its
maximum, reaching 20%. OOO Naryanmarneftegaz, a joint venture, is successfully
operating within the strategic partnership framework. The joint venture is
developing hydrocarbon reserves in the promising Timan-Pechora oil and gas
province. The output of the JV in 2006 came to 500 ths tn of oil (about 10
thousand bbl per day).
In
2006 a new strategy of the Company’s development for the next 10 years was
adopted. It envisages intensive growth and further expansion of the geographical
diversification in all business segments.
‘For
15 years LUKOIIL Group has been working hard to create a value-added business.
The Company managed to increase its shareholder value manifold, nearly from
scratch. We’ve been able to establish an efficient corporate governance system,
expand our resource base, step up hydrocarbon production and develop
the Downstream business segment. However much more needs to be accomplished to
achieve the ambitious goals set by the Company. The LUKOIL management believes
that the Company will successfully cope with the future tasks by using its
competitive advantages, which include high quality assets, cutting-edge
technologies, talented people and shareholder support’, Valery
Grayfer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO LUKOIL, and Vagit Alekperov,
President of OAO LUKOIL, said in their address to
the shareholders.