PREUSSAG SAYS PAYMENT OF A 1986 DIVIDEND NOT CERTAIN
A spokesman for Preussag
AG <PRSG.F> said it was not yet certain whether the company
would pay a dividend on 1986 results
    He was commenting on a Preussag statement which said
results in 1986 were lower than in 1985. Preussag has
frequently said its results came under further pressure in 1986
following a difficult year in 1985.
    Managing board chairman Guenther Sassmannshausen said in
December the board would prefer to stick to its policy of not
dipping into reserves to pay dividends. The spokesman noted the
final dividend decision rests with the supervisory board.
    The Preussag statement said results fell in 1986 compared
with 1985 because declines in earnings in metals, oil and
shipping were not entirely compensated by positive trends in
the group's other divisions.
    The spokesman said it was not clear whether the domestic
group would show a net profit in 1986, adding this would depend
partly on the level of provisions.
    Preussag cut its 1985 dividend to eight marks from nine
marks on 1984 results after parent company net profit dropped
to 65.0 mln marks from 103.0 mln the year before.
    The Preussag world group made a net loss of 13.1 mln marks
in 1985 after a net profit of 154.5 mln the year before.
Domestic group net profit fell to 77.9 mln from 122.2 mln.
    The statement said its results in 1986 were affected by
unsatisfactory selling prices for metals and oil as well as by
poor use of capacity in the supply ship sector.
    The reduction in natural gas prices in the fourth quarter
of 1986 to reflect earlier falls in oil prices was an
additional factor behind the drop in results.
    Preussag said rationalization measures already introduced
would not begin to take full effect until this year.
    Preussag's domestic group turnover rose to 4.48 billion
marks in 1986 from 4.29 billion in 1985, helped by the first
time consolidation of 951.8 mln marks of turnover from its
majority-owned oil and gas subsidiary C. Deilmann AG.
    Domestic group turnover in the 1986 fourth quarter alone
was 1.1 billion marks, it said without giving comparison
figures.
    Preussag said its domestic crude oil production fell 4.0
pct to 94,400 tonnes in 1986, while foreign oil production rose
to 182,900 tonnes from 174,500 tonnes.
    Preussag said its Amalgamated Metal Corporation Plc (AMC)
subsidiary, whose results are included in the world group
accounts, made an unspecified profit in the fourth quarter of
last year.
    AMC's large losses in 1985, caused principally by the
international tin crisis, were the reason behind the world
group losses that year.
 REUTER
