Repsol YPF : Annual General Meeting approved an increase in shareholder remuneration

Repsol held its 2018 Annual General Meeting today in Madrid, during which shareholders approved share buybacks by an amount equivalent to the shares issued in the 2018 scrip dividend. This amortization will result in increased earnings per share for Repsol.

The shareholders also approved an increase of remuneration to 0.9 euros per share. Of this amount, a dividend of 0.4 euros per share has already been paid, and throughout June and July, a capital increase will be executed equivalent to a payment of 0.50 euros gross per share in place of the final dividend for 2017 earnings.

The AGM also voted to keep the scrip dividend program, which allows shareholders to decide whether they prefer to receive part or all of their remuneration in cash or in the form of additional shares in the company.

During the meeting, Repsol chairman Antonio Brufau and CEO Josu Jon Imaz presented the earnings and milestones for 2017, a year in which the company posted its highest net income of the last six years: 2.121 billion euros.

Antonio Brufau discussed the main macroeconomic variables that influenced the sector last year; beginning in June, when international raw material benchmark prices began to recover.

In addition, the chairman emphasized the key challenges for the energy transition in Spain, aimed at avoiding a global temperature increase of more than two degrees Celsius, in accordance with the consensus reached at the Paris Summit (COP21). Brufau explained that in order to meet this goal, the strategy must combine effectiveness with the lowest possible cost to citizens. This will require decisions to be made about the best time to incorporate the available technologies.

In this regard, Repsol's chairman believes that efficiency is essential to reducing global CO₂ emissions. 'With technology that is already competitive today CO₂ emissions in Spain could be reduced by more than 62 million metric tons by 2030,' he said.

Brufau explained that renewable energy sources are growing increasingly competitive in relation to traditional sources, although they still require support due to their intermittency. This is where gas is positioned as the best firm-capacity option to combat the intermittency of the system and allow for continuous availability as renewable energy grows. Gas accounts for 63% of Repsol's production and 74% of its reserves.