OMV Hands Out €4.40 Per Share While Mapping Out a Sharply Leaner Dividend Future

OMV pays €4.40 dividend today, but 2026 payout likely drops to €0.60-€0.70 under new formula due to lower Borouge contributions. Neptun Deep project offers long-term offset.

OMV shareholders are collecting a €4.40 dividend today — the 2025 payout approved at the May 27 annual meeting — but the generous distribution masks a tougher reality just over the horizon. Starting with the 2026 financial year, the Austrian oil and gas group will switch to a new payout formula that is likely to slash the per-share distribution to somewhere between €0.60 and €0.70.

The €4.40 consists of a regular dividend of €3.15 and an extra €1.25, rewarding investors for a year that included elevated energy prices and strong cash generation. On the payment day, the stock rose 1.6% to €58.65, clawing back some ground after a recent slide. Over the past seven days the share is still down 7.3%.

The central reason for the coming dividend reduction is the lower-than-expected contribution from the Borouge joint venture. The petrochemicals platform, operated together with ADNOC, is now expected to distribute only around $250 million to OMV in 2026, half the $500 million originally forecast. To compound the disappointment, the planned Borouge initial public offering has been postponed until 2027, along with the associated exchange offer and capital increase.

Under the new policy that takes effect for the 2026 business year, OMV will pay out 50% of the Borouge dividends attributable to it, plus between 20% and 30% of operating cash flow from the rest of the business — setting the stage for a much lower total than this year’s €4.40. The first disbursement under the revised formula will occur in 2027.

Meanwhile, OMV is laying the groundwork for one of Europe’s biggest gas supply projects. The Neptun Deep venture in the Black Sea, a joint effort between OMV Petrom and Romgaz, started building a 160?kilometre pipeline in May 2026, with total investment around €4 billion. The aim is to produce eight billion cubic metres of natural gas annually. The production platform is scheduled for installation later this year, and first gas is targeted for 2027. Once operational, Neptun Deep should begin generating tangible cashflow — a potential counterweight to the dividend gap, though the first real proof will come when OMV reports full?year 2026 results in spring 2027.

The stock’s recent performance reflects the mixed signals. On Thursday it closed at €57.85, about 10% below the all?time high of €64.40 reached on May 19. The year?to?date advance has narrowed to just under 20%, while the seven?day drop totals about 10%. In technical terms, the 50?day moving average at €60.69 remains out of reach, but the 200?day average at €52.56 sits comfortably below — a reminder that the medium?term uptrend is still intact.

First?quarter results were a mixed bag. OMV posted adjusted operating profit of €1.025 billion on sales of €5.855 billion from continuing operations, with operating cash flow of €776 million. Segment performance varied: the energy division weakened, fuels held steady, and chemicals improved, which OMV attributed to the Borealis reclassification and stronger polyolefin margins.

For the full year the group plans organic capital expenditure of roughly €3.4 billion and hydrocarbon production of 280,000–290,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, based on a Brent assumption of $85–$95 a barrel. Key upcoming catalysts include a trading update for the second quarter on July 9, followed by full Q2 numbers on July 31. The International Energy Agency publishes its monthly Oil Market Report on June 17, this time with an extended outlook through 2027 due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Investors will be watching closely for any shift in the demand?supply balance that could alter the dividend calculus.