Due to the epidemic situation caused by the worldwide corona virus, MOL Group held an extraordinary general meeting instead of the Annual General Meeting, where the Board of the Directors decided on all proposals and proposed resolutions in the agenda items of the AGM instead of the Shareholders. The members of the Board of Directors approved the crisis management proposal regarding dividends, according to which the company will retain after-tax profits from 2019 fully until the situation normalizes, when they might be paid out as dividends, should shareholders so decide. The Board of Directors also approved the financial report and consolidated financial statements for the year 2019.

COVID-19 emergency measures by governments in MOL’s countries of operations have resulted in partial or full lockdown, significantly slowing down economic activity in the company’s core CEE countries. Due to the uncertainty about the duration and impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the extreme volatility of the external environment, and the unpredictability of demand across the businesses, MOL Group is focusing on business continuity and cash preserve. The Board of Directors decided to retain after-tax profits from 2019 fully until the situation normalizes, when they might be paid out as dividends, should shareholders so decide.

At the extraordinary meeting, the Board of Directors approved the re-election of Dr. László Parragh, Zsigmond Járai and Dr. Martin Roman to the Board of Directors. In addition, Dr. Péter Gottfried was elected a member of the Supervisory Board.

Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman-CEO of MOL Group, said at the extraordinary meeting: 
“Today is a bittersweet day, as 2019 was a financially strong year for us, but recently, in the shadow of COVID-19, circumstances have changed rapidly and dramatically. The pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to the entire world, including Europe, Hungary and MOL. Until now, our company has operated safely, without any disruption. Nevertheless, we have introduced a number of measures to minimize the effects of the economic and coronavirus crises affecting the Group. The aim of our measures is to emerge from the crisis stronger than we were before and to continue to provide competitive return for our shareholders.”

MOL Group generated USD 2,44bn Clean CCS EBITDA in 2019, above the yearly guidance. Furthermore, the company also achieved important milestones along its 2030 transformation journey, acquired major upstream assets in Azerbaijan, reached 50% completion at its flagship polyol project, while Consumer Services business had another record-breaking year.

KeyFacts Energy: MOL Group Hungary country profile