The Company's Board of Directors maintained a policy of dividend
distribution based on the following rules:
- The value of the dividend
distributed must be between 40% and 50% of ordinary consolidated
net earnings;
- If, as a result of applying the
criteria mentioned above, there is a drop in the dividend in a
certain year compared to that of the previous year, and the Board
of Directors considers that this decrease is a result of abnormal
and merely circumstantial situations, it may propose that the value
from the previous year should be maintained. It may even resort to
free existing reserves, providing that the use of these reserves
does not jeopardise the principles adopted for balance sheet
management.
According to the existing legislation, the payment of the annual
dividends cannot take place 30 days after the Shareholder's Meeting
that approves it.
Only shares held up to the third working day immediately before
the ex-dividend date have the right to receive dividends.