Oriental Petroleum grants P60 M cash dividend

MANILA, Philippines — The board of directors of Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corp. (OPMC) declared a cash dividend of one twentieth of a centavo (P0.0005) per share during the company’s recent annual stockholders meeting.

With a total of 120 billion listed and outstanding shares, the dividend payout would amount to P60 million.

The company’s stock price has averaged P0.012 over the past 12 months. It closed last Friday at P0.011 per share.

OPMC president Robert Coyiuto Jr. said the dividend grant was an offshoot of the company’s positive growth trajectory and steady rise in net income.

“This year, we are celebrating five decades of being one of the country’s pioneers in oil and gas exploration and production. More importantly, we have been a significant participant in all the numerous offshore commercial oil discoveries in the country,” he said.

Coyiuto noted that 2018 saw an improvement in the prices of the company’s Galoc oilfield in Palawan. Overall, OPMC continued to generate modest levels of oil revenues and net income from its petroleum operations, closing at $7.7 million and $855,000, respectively.

In 2018, the average price per barrel reached $71, compared to $55 per barrel the year before.