THE HAGUE, The Netherlands,
May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc ("RDS")(NYSE: RDS.A)
(NYSE:RDS.B) today announced the Reference Share Price in respect
of the first quarter interim dividend of 2016, which was announced
on May 4, 2016 at $0.47 per A ordinary share ("A Share") and B
ordinary share ("B Share") and $0.94
per American Depository Share ("ADS").
Reference Share Price
The Reference Share price is used for calculating a Participating Shareholder's
entitlement under the Scrip Dividend Programme, as defined below.
Q1 2016
Reference Share price (US$) 24.549
The Reference Share Price is the US dollar equivalent of the
average of the closing price for the Company's A Shares listed on
Euronext Amsterdam for the five dealing days commencing on (and
including) the date on which the Shares are first quoted
ex-dividend in respect of the relevant dividend.
The Reference Share Price is calculated by reference to the
Euronext Amsterdam closing price in euro. The US dollar equivalent
of the closing price on each of the dealing days referred to above
is calculated using a market currency exchange rate prevailing at
the time.
Reference ADS Price
ADS stands for "American Depositary Share". ADR stands for "American Depositary
Receipt". An ADR is a certificate that evidences ADSs (though the terms ADR and ADS
are often used interchangeably). ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbols RDS.A
and RDS.B. Each ADS represents two ordinary shares, two ordinary A Shares in the case
of RDS.A or two ordinary B Shares in the case of RDS.B.
Q1 2016
Reference ADS price (US$) 49.098
The Reference ADS Price equals the Reference Share Price of the
two A Shares underlying each new A ADS.
Scrip dividend programme
RDS provides shareholders with a choice to receive dividends in
cash or in shares via a Scrip Dividend Programme ("the
Programme").
Under the Programme shareholders can increase their shareholding
in RDS by choosing to receive new shares instead of cash dividends,
if approved by the Board. Only new A Shares will be issued
under the Programme, including to shareholders who currently hold B
Shares.
Joining the Programme may currently offer a tax advantage in
some countries compared with receiving cash dividends. In
particular, dividends paid out as shares will not be subject to
Dutch dividend withholding tax (currently 15 per cent) and will not
generally be taxed on receipt by a UK shareholder or a Dutch
shareholder.
Shareholders who elect to join the Programme will increase the
number of shares held in RDS without having to buy existing shares
in the market, thereby avoiding associated dealing costs.
Shareholders who do not join the Programme will continue to receive
in cash any dividends approved by the Board.
Shareholders who held only B Shares and joined the Programme are
reminded they will need to make a Scrip Dividend Election in
respect of their new A Shares if they wish to join the Programme in
respect of such new shares. However, this is only necessary if the
shareholder has not previously made a Scrip Dividend Election in
respect of any new A Shares issued.
For further information on the Programme, including how to join
if you are eligible, please refer to the appropriate publication
available on http://www.shell.com/scrip.
Royal Dutch Shell
plc
CAUTIONARY NOTE
The companies in which Royal Dutch
Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are
separate legal entities. In this release "Shell", "Shell group" and
"Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes
used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in
general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to
refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.
These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served
by identifying the particular company or companies.
'‘Subsidiaries'’, "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as
used in this release refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or
indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements
over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as
"joint ventures" and "joint operations" respectively.
Entities over which Shell has significant influence but
neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates".
The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the
direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a
venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party
interest.
This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the
financial condition, results of operations and businesses of
Royal Dutch Shell. All statements
other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to
be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
statements of future expectations that are based on management's
current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results,
performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include,
among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of
Royal Dutch Shell to market risks
and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs,
estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These
forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and
phrases such as '‘anticipate'’, '‘believe'’, '‘could'’,
'‘estimate'’, '‘expect'’, '‘goals'’, '‘intend'’, '‘may'’,
'‘objectives'’, '‘outlook'’, '‘plan'’, '‘probably'’, '‘project'’,
'‘risks'’, "schedule", '‘seek'’, '‘should'’, '‘target'’, '‘will'’
and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that
could affect the future operations of Royal
Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements
included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price
fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand
for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and
production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market
share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical
risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable
potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful
negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of
doing business in developing countries and countries subject to
international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory
developments including regulatory measures addressing climate
change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various
countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of
expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with
governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of
projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m)
changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements
contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety
by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this
section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results
are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2015 (available at http://www.shell.com/investor and
http://www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all
forward looking statements contained in this release and should be
considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement
speaks only as of the date of this release, May 26, 2016 Neither
Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statement as a result of new information, future events or other
information. In light of these risks, results could differ
materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the
forward-looking statements contained in this release.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this
release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC.
U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure
in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website
http://www.sec.gov .
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SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc