FHB Bank's board of directors proposed a HUF 28 per share dividend (vs. last year's HUF 20), which equals a payout ratio of 22% and a dividend yield of 2%. The dividend proposal will be voted on at the AGM, to be held on April 21.
Furthermore, FHB Bank announced that it has purchased 50,000 ordinary shares of “A” series at an average price of HUF 1,376/share at the Budapest Stock Exchange on 4 April 2006. After the transaction, the company possesses 52,060 FHB ordinary shares.
Macro: Press speculates record 1Q06 budget gap expected
Business daily Világgazdaság reported yesterday that Hungary's public sector deficit, excluding local governments, hit a historic high of HUF 350bn in March, overshooting the Finance Ministry's forecast by nearly HUF 90bn. A record high March budget deficit could push the 1Q06 budget gap to 60% of the annual target (versus an originally planned 45%). According to the press, the adjustment could derive from HUF 238bn of debt assumed by National Motorway Company and the premature accounting of home loan subsidies, which was originally due only in April.
Expenses related to the recent floods are not expected to put huge burden on the April budget deficit, according to business daily Napi Gazdasag, but separately warned that the annual budget target (of HUF 1,545) was set, assuming a falling interest rate environment, which does not seem to be realistic going forward.
We would view the potential overshoot of the March deficit as negative, and consider the budget assumption as a threat to meeting the annual target