Budget Gets Record High Dividends In 2005.

Last year the State Property Fund transferred a record amount, USD 355 mln, to the budget as dividends from government shareholdings. Concorde Capital: The majority of these dividends were provided by heavy-weights like Ukrnafta (UNAF: HOLD), Ukrtelecom (UTEL: HOLD) and Kryvorizhstal (KSTL: BUY). These three companies, in which the government is a major shareholder (before KSTL’s reprivatization), made record high dividend payouts: UNAF paid a total of USD 267 mln (payout ratio: 100%), UTEL: USD 143 mln (83%), and KSTL: USD 139 mln (35%). The 2006 budget sets USD 700 mln as the amount to be received from dividends on state stakes this year.  UNAF and UTEL will probably be the government’s main cash cows again this year.