Downsizing and increased dividends in DNB and Telenor

DNB services stress testDNB logo. Photo Norway Today Media.

While several hundred positions in the partially state-owned DNB and Telenor will be downsized, there will be an increase in dividends to its shareholders.

While DNB has decided to cut 600 jobs and close down 59 offices, the Telenor Board has adopted changes, which means that up to 170 employees will have to find a new job.

And, now there will be a new round of cuts to be made – 170 man-years in Telenor and an unknown number of employees from DNB’s corporate market, writes Klassekampen.

Meanwhile, payment of dividends to shareholders of the two partially state-owned companies has increased in recent years. Last year the dividend to the shareholders of Telenor was 42% higher than in 2012, while the dividends to shreholders of DNB was 125% higher.

This year is likely to set new records when the dividend for 2016 will be paid out. Telenor proposes a dividend of 7.8% per share, while the DNB Board has proposed a dividend of 5.7% per share. Overall the dividends will likely be NOK 11.7 billion in Telenor and NOK 9.9 billion in DNB.

Communications Manager Trond Viken in the Department of Industry says that those who own and are represented on the board have indicated their expectations for dividends before the annual results were completed, but stressed that the expectations will not be published.

This is because the companies that are partially state owned should be able to operate under the same conditions as competing companies.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today