Moscow Exchange Supervisory Board recommends dividend for 2018

At its meeting on 6 March 2019, the Supervisory Board of Moscow Exchange (MOEX) set the date of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) as 25 April 2019.

The record date for participation in the AGM is 2 April 2019. 

The Board recommended that the AGM approve a dividend of RUB 7.7 per share for 2018. The total recommended dividend for 2018 amounts to RUB 17.5 bln, or 89% of the company's IFRS net profit for 2018. The dividend record date was set as 14 May 2019.

The Board approved the following list of candidates for the Supervisory Board to be elected at the AGM:

1. Ilya Bakhturin, Special Investment Situations Director at Russian Direct Investment Fund, non-executive director.
2. Mikhail Bratanov, Head of Société Generale Securities Services in Russia and CIS, Head of Securities Services Department at Rosbank, independent candidate.
3. Oleg Viyugin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR), independent director.
4. Andrey Golikov, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Moscow Exchange, non-executive director.
5. Maria Gordon, Independent Director at ALROSA, independent director.
6. Valery Goreglyad, Chief Auditor at Bank of Russia, non-executive director.
7. Yury Denisov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at National Clearing Center, non-executive director.
8. Dmitriy Eremeev, founder and CEO of FIX group of companies, independent director.
9. Bella Zlatkis, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at Sberbank, non-executive director.
10. Alexander Izosimov, Independent Director at EVRAZ plc, independent candidate.
11. Duncan Paterson, Non-Executive Chairman at GH Financials Limited, independent director.
12. Rainer Riess, Director General at the Federation of European Securities Exchanges AISBL (FESE), independent director.

Moscow Exchange seeks to promote high standards of corporate governance among issuers listed on the MOEX platform. Seven of the 12 candidates nominated for the Board have been recognised as independent. Currently there are seven independent directors on the Board.

Oleg Viyugin, Chairman of Moscow Exchange Supervisory Board, said:

"Moscow Exchange delivered strong results in 2018, meeting key performance indicators for commission income growth, return on equity and operational continuity of the exchange infrastructure. The company’s good financial performance allows us to pay dividends significantly above the guidance set out in our dividend policy. Paying out a substantial part of profit in dividends is a sign of good corporate governance that helps to strengthen the company’s investment case".

According to Moscow Exchange’s dividend policy, the company is required to distribute at least 55% of net profit for the year.

There are over 36,000 individual and nearly 1,000 corporate shareholders of Moscow Exchange. The company’s free float stands at 57.6%, one of the highest free floats among Russian companies.