Austria's Verbund proposes special dividend with state set to gain (updated)

VERBUND AG

03/12/2025 18:31

Updates throughout with details, context

VIENNA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The executive board of Austria's partially state-owned utility Verbund VERB.VI has proposed a special dividend amounting to an additional 400 million euro ($467-million) payout to investors this year, the company said on Wednesday.

The special dividend of 1.15 euros per share for the 2025 financial year comes on top of the regular dividend and is to be presented at the annual general meeting, the company said in a statement, adding that it was subject to approval.

The Austrian state is the utility's largest shareholder with a 51% stake through its holding company OBAG.

Last month, Chancellor Christian Stocker said the government planned to use state stakes in companies to fund roughly 500 million euros in relief for the general public's electricity bills. He did not give further details.

Austria holds stakes in companies including oil firm OMV OMVV.VI, Austrian Post POST.VI and A1 Telekom Austria TELA.VI, part of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil AMXB.MX.

($1 = 0.8568 euros)

(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, writing by Rachel More;  Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

((rachel.more@thomsonreuters.com;))