Kazakhtelecom plans to allocate 40% of its net profit for dividend payouts

Shareholders of Kazakhtelecom, the national provider of communication services in Kazakhstan, have decided to allocate about $84.4 million for dividend payouts for 2021, according to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

It is expected that the company will pay $7.67 per share, which is twice as much as the payout per share last year. In 2021, Kazakhtelecom’s net profit reached $202.3 million. This means that the company is going to allocate 40.5% of its net profit or 43.5% of revenue for dividend payouts this year.

In 2020, the company paid shareholders $39.5 million of dividends or 28.4% of its net profit (30% of the company’s revenue) or $3.70 per share.

According to KASE, Kazakhtelecom stocks plunged 12.6% since the beginning of the year.

On April 12, the government of Kazakhstan revealed it took back 28.8% of Kazakhtelecom from Skyline Investment Company S.A. and Alatau Capital Investment, private companies that gave 24.95% and 3.85% of their shares respectively to the state. Both of the companies were controlled by billionaire Kairat Satybaldy, a nephew of Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

In August, the press service of the Anti-Corruption Agency said that the pretrial investigation activity of Kairat Satybaldy and other suspects is over. They were accused of money embezzlement from Kazakhtelecom and the Center for Transport Service, according to the agency.

In September, Satybaldy was sentenced by the Astana court to six years in jail with confiscation of property.

The current shareholders of the telecommunication company are the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna (52.03%), Committee of State Property and Privatization (28.81%) and nominee shareholder The Bank of New York Mellon DRS (9.77%).