Russia’s Gazprom rose on Wednesday after reporting record first-half profits and announcing a new dividend to shareholders.
Stoyan Vasev | Press service of Gazprom Neft | via Portal
Russian gas giant Gazprom posted record first-half profit and promised shareholders fresh dividends, sending its shares soaring more than 27% in early Moscow trade on Wednesday.
The majority-state energy company said its board of directors had proposed a dividend of 51.03 Russian rubles ($0.85) per common share for the first half of 2022, per net income.
The jump in the group’s share price pushed the dollar-denominated Russian RTS index up 3.6% and the ruble-denominated MOEX Russia index up 4.7% late morning in Moscow.
The company has been at the forefront of concerns about Russian gas flows to Europe with the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent economic sanctions against Moscow by Western powers, prompting the European Union to quickly seek alternative energy sources.
Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it would suspend gas supplies to Europe via its main Nord Stream 1 pipeline for three days from Wednesday, citing maintenance requirements. The group also halted supplies to French utility Engie from Thursday, citing a payment dispute.