Shareholders of Dnipropetrovsk Oil-Extracting Plant Demand Bunge to Conform to Financial Transparency Principles at DOEP.KYIV, Ukraine -- Minority shareholders demand that majority stockholder Bunge Limited Bunge Limited NYSE: BG (formerly Bunge International and prior to that Bunge Y Born) is a multinational food conglomerate. As well as being a leading global soybean exporter it is also involved in food processing, grain trading, and fertilizer. act within the legal framework and cease attempts of dividend minimization and profit layering through offshore schemes. Shareholders require independent auditing and are ready to stand up for their rights in court. Minority shareholders of Ukraine's major refined oil producer consider "illegal and discriminatory dis·crim·i·na·to·ry adj. 1. Marked by or showing prejudice; biased. 2. Making distinctions. dis·crim " the resolution on dividends payout, adopted at the general shareholders meeting of Dnipropetrovsk Oil-Extracting Plant (DOEP, operating under "Oleyna" brand) on August 9, 2006 in Kyiv. Minority shareholders are confident that the enterprise's losses declared in accounts are in fact the attempt to avoid paying fair dividends to minority shareholders and secrete secrete /se·crete/ (se-kret´) to elaborate and release a secretion. se·crete v. To generate and separate a substance from cells or bodily fluids. them in affiliated structures. Regardless of the enterprise's loss-making financial result, the shareholders' meeting shareholders' meeting n. a meeting, usually annual, of all shareholders of a corporation (although in large corporations only a small percentage attend) to elect the Board of Directors and hear reports on the company's business situation. passed the resolution to pay out dividends for 2005: $210.68 per preference share (2,738 preference shares - 2.95% of total number of shares, are owned by Bunge) from the enterprise's reserve fund and $4.95 per ordinary registered share - at the expense of previous profits. Market experts believe that actions likely result from stiff policy applied by the majority stockholder (Bunge) and may indicate the financial instability of the given company. "We consider data stated in the company's report on financial and economic results for 2005 as incomplete and misleading", says Sergey Yanchenko, head of the minority shareholders action group. "Favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. market environment and the DOEP's growing share of the domestic market do contradict con·tra·dict v. con·tra·dict·ed, con·tra·dict·ing, con·tra·dicts v.tr. 1. To assert or express the opposite of (a statement). 2. To deny the statement of. See Synonyms at deny. with convictions of the majority shareholder". Pursuant to the report, due to a number of unfavorable circumstances affecting the production process, the enterprise completed 2005 with the loss of $ 9.54 million. Such shareholders' doubts are also supported by industry analysts. Experts could not provide reasons why DOEP could have ended 2005 with a loss. "This is rather odd, since last year domestically oriented o·ri·ent n. 1. Orient The countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia. 2. a. The luster characteristic of a pearl of high quality. b. A pearl having exceptional luster. 3. sunflower sunflower, any plant of the genus Helianthus of the family Asteraceae (aster family), annual or perennial herbs native to the New World and common throughout the United States. oil producers showed profitability of 30-35%, whereas exporters reached 42-48%", says Sergey Nalivka, Director of AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. Consulting Agency. DOEP's reported results raised a wave of criticism among minority shareholders. "Bunge takes advantage if the enterprise is operating at a loss. In such case they have good reasons not to pay us dividends, and they've been acting in such a manner for over three years so far", claimed DOEP minority shareholder Sergey Paliy. "The company is purchasing raw materials from its affiliates at unreasonably high prices, and then sells them readymade production below market price. Consequently, the profitability is reported already tailored to Bunge preferences as major shareholder". "We tried to report our opinion to Bunge representatives at the AGM AGM annual general meeting AGM n abbr (= annual general meeting) → AG f AGM n abbr (= annual general meeting) → JHV f and suggested revising the enterprise's financial results in cooperation with an independent auditing company, though they refused to take our claims into account", comments Ekaterina Uzhva, another minority shareholder. "We are going to litigate the AGM protocol in court". Shareholders deem that Bunge's operation in the Ukraine exhibits the application of double standards. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. them, this is also proven by the claims against the enterprise on VAT return, filed by fiscal authorities of Ukraine, evidencing non-transparent financial accounting at the enterprise as well as layering profits from the state and own shareholders. Reference: About DOEP Dnipropetrovsk Oil-Extracting Plant is the major refined oil producer in Ukraine, selling its oil under the "Oleyna" brand. Total sunflower seeds processing capacity approaches 1.2 million tons annually. About Bunge Limited Bunge Limited is one of the world's leaders in processing oil cultures and distributing bottled vegetable oil. In addition, the company is the largest producer and supplier of fertilizers. The company currently operates in 30 countries, and its share in processing oil cultures was estimated at 20% of global market as of 2004. The company's turnover is about $ 25 billion per annum Per annum Yearly. . Bunge is constructing an oil-processing plant in Illichivsk (Odessa region), which is expected to become the largest facility of such kind in Europe. According to corporate data, Bunge holds 91% of ordinary and 3% of preference shares of DOEP, totaling 94% of shares. The minority shareholders own about five thousand shares. |
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