Shareholders of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) approved the board's proposal to retain profit realized in 2008 and not pay a dividend at Thursday's annual general meeting.
MOL's profit amounted to 141 billion forints ($614.5 million) in 2008.
At the same time, the company is maintaining its policy of paying 40% of profit as dividends in the future, MOL's Chief Financial Officer Jozsef Molnar said at the meeting.
He added that MOL carried out the largest acquisition of its history in 2008 by increasing its stake in Croatia's INA to 47.2% for EUR873 million.
MOL's net gearing ratio stood at 35.9% at the end of 2008 and its net debt to earnings before interest depreciation and amortization ratio was below 2%, Molnar added.
The AGM also authorized the company's board of directors to purchase treasury shares up to 25% of the company's registered equity at Thursday's AGM.
The company said the authorization will be valid until October 2010 and serves to protect shareholders from a potential plunge in share price if a large amount of shares suddenly appears on the market.
The treasury shares could also be used for acquisitions or to allow the company to exercise money call options, or to cancel shares.