Bulgarian soda ash producer Solvay-Sodi said on 21 May 2004 it would propose a dividend of BGL 3.15 (USD 1.9/EUR 1.6 ) per share at its annual shareholders meeting on 25 June 2004.
Solvay-Sodi plans …
Bulgarian soda ash producer Solvay-Sodi said on 21 May 2004 it would propose a dividend of BGL 3.15 (USD 1.9/EUR 1.6 ) per share at its annual shareholders meeting on 25 June 2004. Solvay-Sodi plans to allocate BGL 20 million from net profit of BGL 23.889 million in 2003, the company announced. The soda ash maker, which is 98% owned by a consortium of Turkish glass maker Sisecam, Belgian drugs and chemical firm Solvay and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has an equity capital of some BGL 6.35 million. The company posted a profit of BGL 18.5 million for 2002 and paid a dividend of BGL 2.7 per share. Solvay-Sodi said earlier in 2004 that it faces growing competition from Chinese soda ash makers for its important dollar markets, which might restraint its profit in 2004. The fall in the US dollar against the euro over the past year has compelled those Bulgarian producers that export mainly to dollar-dominated parts of the world to cut profit margins as the country“s currency, the lev (BGL), is pegged to the euro under an IMF-supported currency board system. Solvay-Sodi exports about 90% of its output mainly to the Middle East and Asia. Output totalled 900,000 tonnes in 2003. The company had said it planned to invest BGL 15 million in upgrades in 2004. About half of the money will go into modern distillation equipment for the soda ash plant.