OMV Shares Fall As 4Q Results Miss Expectations

By Giulia Petroni

OMV AG's shares plunged on Thursday on weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of last year, despite a higher dividend.

The Austrian oil-and-gas player reported an adjusted net profit of 700 million euros ($769.3 million) compared with EUR1.02 billion in the previous year and roughly 4% below a company-compiled consensus that had it at EUR727 million.

The clean CCS EBIT--operating earnings without one-off special effects and adjusted by the current cost of supply--were EUR2.1 billion in the quarter, 10% below the company consensus.

At 1019GMT, shares trade 5% lower at EUR43.19.

"We expect the weaker results to weigh on the shares but this is mitigated by the higher dividend," UBS analysts said in a research note.

OMV proposed a dividend of EUR2.80 a share, up 22% compared to the previous year, and a special dividend of EUR2.25. The dividend is 5% above expectations, implying a 11.2% yield, according to UBS analysts.

"The difference came from a higher base dividend, up 22% year-on-year versus UBS expectations of 15%," they say.

Looking at the current year, OMV is guiding for capital expenditure of around EUR3.7 billion. Total production is expected to average around 360,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, lower compared to the previous year due to the exclusion of the Russian volumes and a natural decline in particular in Norway and Romania, the company said.

Write to Giulia Petroni at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2023 05:44 ET (10:44 GMT)

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