OMV Raises Dividend, Overhauls Executive Pay, and Warns of LNG Squeeze at Charged AGM

OMV shareholders rewarded with €4.40 dividend and executive pay overhaul, as outgoing CEO Alfred Stern warns of winter gas storage challenges amid LNG shortages.

OMV’s annual general meeting in Vienna offered shareholders a double dose of good news — a boosted dividend and a restructured executive pay system — but outgoing CEO Alfred Stern used the platform to sound the alarm on Europe’s winter gas supplies. The stock, already up 31% this year, ticked higher to €63.20, within a whisker of its 52-week high of €63.85, as investors digested both the payout sweetener and the governance shift.

The dividend proposal for 2025 totals €4.40 per share, split between a regular payment of €3.15 and a special dividend of €1.25. That cash return comes as the company also pushes through a radical overhaul of boardroom compensation, effective from 2026 — the same year Emma Delaney is due to take over from Stern as CEO. Under the new model, the short-term bonus will be paid entirely in cash, scrapping the previous requirement that executives invest at least a third of it in OMV shares and lock them up for three years. The long-term incentive will remain share-based through a separate multi-year programme, while the “change-of-control” clause that guaranteed accelerated bonus payments in the event of a takeover has been removed. Shareholding guidelines are now uniform: each board member must hold stock worth a full year’s base salary, half the previous 200% requirement for the chair.

Stern’s address, however, struck a far less celebratory note. He warned that Europe faces serious difficulties filling its gas storage facilities this year, compounded by global liquefied natural gas shortages and supply-chain disruption from the Iran conflict. While short-term delivery is secure, the real challenge lies in building adequate reserves for the coming months. He criticised state interventions such as windfall taxes and price caps, arguing they worsen scarcity instead of encouraging domestic energy production. Geopolitical tensions have already distorted global trade flows and severely constrained commodity availability since the start of the year, he added.

The operational backdrop underscored those concerns. OMV’s adjusted CCS operating result in the Energy segment fell to €723 million in the latest quarter, hit by lower exploration & production earnings, negative market effects, reduced sales volumes, and temporary shutdowns linked to the Middle East conflict. The Fuels business held steady at €113 million, while the Chemicals segment swung sharply higher to €245 million, supported by the reclassification of Borealis and improved polyolefin margins.

On the chemicals front, the creation of Borouge International — the combination of Borouge, Borealis and NOVA Chemicals — is now complete. OMV holds a 50% stake alongside XRG, making the venture the world’s fourth-largest polyolefin producer with identified annual EBITDA synergies of over $500 million. The market’s focus is less on near-term delivery than on whether the interplay of stable gas supply, healthy refining margins, astute LNG procurement, and the Borouge integration will translate into sustainable cash flows over the coming quarters.

The meeting itself was disrupted by climate activists, forcing supervisory board chairman Lutz Feldmann to repeatedly suspend proceedings and have security remove protesters. The combination of a heated energy-policy debate, vocal societal pressure, and a stock trading near record highs made for an unusually charged atmosphere. For investors, the message is clear: OMV is rewarding them today while preparing for a more complex tomorrow under new leadership.