The Eni board has confirmed an interim dividend of ?0.50 ($0.73) per share, 23% lower than last year's payout. The Italian major surprised the financial community on Jul. 31 by cutting its dividend, the only big oil company to do so. Eni termed the cut a "prudent" approach to the difficult economic environment (IOD Aug.3,p8). But analysts speculated that the company was either expecting a big fine later this year, maybe related to an ongoing European Commission investigation into natural gas market manipulation, or was set to embark on an acquisition spree.
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