NITR Announces Big Dividend Payout

Nyzhnyodniprovsky Pipe (NITR: BUY) announced at today’s EGM that it would pay $196m in dividends for 2005, or $3.6 per share. The scale of the dividend payout was a pleasant surprise, as it well exceeded the company’s 2005 net income of $107m. The payment period is September 5-December 31, and the ex-dividend date is September 5. The EGM also approved the company’s financial and operating results for 1H06, announced at the initial session of the EGM on August 5: sales of $352.7m (up 17.8% yoy), EBITDA of $89.2m (up 76.3%) and net income of $60.1m (down 21.1%).