OMV AGM Greenlights €4.40 Payout and Board Renewal as Borouge IPO Setback Forces Dividend Policy Rethink

Shareholders approved a bumper €4.40 dividend for 2025, but the postponed Borouge IPO will reduce future distributions by €0.60-€0.70 per share. Board overhaul and new pay policy also approved.

The mood at OMV’s annual general meeting in Vienna on 27 May 2026 was a study in contrasts. Shareholders walked away with a bumper €4.40 per share payout for the 2025 financial year — composed of a €3.15 regular dividend and a €1.25 special distribution — yet the gathering was overshadowed by a delayed initial public offering that will crimp future distributions. The stock, which has climbed 27% since the start of the year to €61.55, now sits just 3.6% below its 52-week high of €63.85 hit on 19 May.

Board overhaul with strong shareholder backing

Four seats on the supervisory board were filled during the meeting. Incumbents Edith Hlawati and Patrick Lammers were re-elected with 91.6% and 94.5% of the vote respectively. New faces Andreas Klauser — chief executive of Austrian machinery group Palfinger — and Ahmed El-Hoshy sailed in with 99.1% and 98.9% approval. The departures that created the vacancies came from expiring terms and two resignations, leaving the board with ten shareholder representatives and five employee representatives.

Alongside the personnel decisions, a revamped executive remuneration policy won 97.1% support. OMV said the changes tie pay more tightly to performance and increase transparency. The separate compensation report for both the management and supervisory boards was approved with 95.6% of valid votes.

Dividend policy shift triggered by Borouge delay

The Börsegang of OMV’s petrochemical joint venture Borouge Group International, originally expected this year, has been pushed back to 2027. The company, a joint venture with state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was formed in March by merging Borealis, Borouge and Nova Chemicals. CEO Alfred Stern, presiding over his final AGM before handing the reins to Emma Delaney in September, called the creation of the plastics platform a strategic milestone.

The delay carries a real cash cost for OMV. Instead of the previously anticipated $500 million distribution from the joint venture in 2026, the company will receive only $250 million. The impact on OMV’s own dividend is quantified at €0.60 to €0.70 per share. Starting from the 2026 financial year — with the first payout under the new logic in 2027 — OMV will distribute 50% of the BGI dividends attributable to it, plus 20% to 30% of operating cash flow.

Brent at $65 and a cautious operational outlook

Management sketched a modest production target for 2026 of just under 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, assuming stable operations in Libya. The average Brent price is pencilled in at around $65 a barrel. Organic capital expenditure is budgeted at roughly €3.2 billion. KPMG Austria has been appointed as auditor for the 2026 books.

The meeting was not without disruption. Climate activists repeatedly interrupted proceedings with vocal protests, forcing chairman Lutz Feldmann to call several breaks. Shareholders granted discharge to both the management and supervisory boards for the 2025 fiscal year. The next quarterly report is due on 31 July 2026, when the market will see how the softening oil price is feeding through to the bottom line.