State budget could receive over 44 billion crowns from the dividend of the company ČEZ, according to the proposal put forward by the company. Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura said that the proposal will be prepared by the company’s management, and he does not exclude the possibility that the government member’s proposal could be approved again by the general meeting. Last year, the government member’s proposal was supported, and the company’s dividend payout ratio increased to 100 percent. The Ministry of Finance spokesman, Tomáš Weisse, said that the office typically waits for the proposal of the dividend amount from the ČEZ management and then considers the possibility of submitting a counter-proposal.

Recently, CEO Daniel Beneš announced that thanks to a record profit exceeding 80 billion crowns, ČEZ could send a dividend of 44 billion crowns to the state budget. The dividend payout ratio of ČEZ currently ranges from 60 to 80 percent of the clean net profit. If the 80 percent payout of pure net profit occurs, the value of the dividend per share would be 117 crowns. Last year, the company paid out 48 crowns per share before tax. According to Česká spořitelna, the ČEZ management proposed an 80 percent dividend payout ratio last year, but the Ministry of Finance increased it to a 100 percent ratio. If such an increase were to occur again, it would correspond to a dividend of 146 crowns per share.

Beneš said ČEZ should pay the state more than 100 billion crowns this year, including the dividend, up to 40 billion crowns for the tax on extraordinary profits and excess revenues, and up to 30 billion crowns in regular taxes. The Czech government’s budget has faced severe revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic, and the additional revenue from ČEZ’s dividend could help reduce the budget deficit. The increase in the dividend could have positive effects on the overall economic situation of the country, particularly for the energy sector, which is a vital component of the Czech economy.

Article by Prague Forum