“Because the state owns a 70 percent stake in ČEZ, it has an ideal opportunity to push for an increase in the dividend payout ratio from the current 60 to 80 percent to 100 percent, or even higher. In my opinion, in this way he would have a chance to obtain even more financial resources from an overall point of view than through the establishment of some form of taxation. The extraordinary tax reduces the net profit and therefore also the dividend potential,” said Fio bank analyst Jan Raška.
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According to him, CEZ’s high profits can hardly have a negative effect on the public. “The favorable management of ČEZ means a higher dividend for the state, which can then spend the obtained funds on possible social transfers. In addition, 30 percent of ČEZ is owned by minority shareholders, which are also Czech households. And the higher dividend will also help cover higher energy costs,” Raška added.
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According to Komerční banka analyst Bohumil Trampota, the state could also use the dividend to obtain money from ČEZ. According to him, the state has no other way.
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“The reason is simple, CEZ has minority shareholders. But it could help in the sense of how the government could use the high profits. Instead of the politicians here constantly shaking up the contemplated imposition of a special tax, they can simply have the high profits paid out in the form of dividends, for example. This is the easiest way. And the fastest. And it’s also completely transparent,” said Trampota.
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Dividend for the state: up to 36 billion crowns
“The prediction indicates that CEZ will pay a record dividend this year at the upper limit of the dividend policy. This is where the government comes in, trying to push through the sector tax and tax the extraordinary, in quotation marks, undeserved profits of the company. At the same time, ČEZ itself indicates that if the government waits for the dividend, it will still have higher revenues for the state treasury,” XTB analyst Štěpán Hájek said.
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According to ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš, the current full-year profit forecast indicates a record dividend for shareholders. “If the dividend is set at the upper limit of the interval of the applicable dividend policy, 48 to 52 billion CZK would be distributed among the shareholders. For the majority shareholder, the Czech Republic, this would mean an income of 34 to 36 billion CZK,” said Beneš.
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The ČEZ energy group had a net profit of 33.6 billion crowns for the first half of the year, 32 billion crowns higher year-on-year. Operating revenues increased by 21 percent to 130.5 billion crowns. Operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) rose year-on-year by CZK 27.7 billion to CZK 59.3 billion and, according to the group, was influenced, among other things, by the enormous rise in commodity prices on wholesale markets.
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