Hydro Annual Report 2011b

Dividends declared and paid in 2011 and 2010 for the prior fiscal year, respectively, are as follows:
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 36 - Dividends F53
Paid in 2011 for fiscal
year 2010
Paid in 2010 for fiscal
year 2009
Dividend per share paid, NOK 0.75 0.50
Total dividends paid, NOK million 1 527 603
Date proposed February 16, 2011 February 17, 2010
Date approved May 5, 2011 May 4, 2010
Dividend payment date May 18, 2011 May 18, 2010
Dividends paid to minority shareholders in Hydro's subsidiaries are reported as dividends paid in Consolidated statements of
changes in equity.
Note 37 - Guarantees
Amounts in NOK million 2011 2010
Guarantees related to jointly controlled entities 7 708 7 668
Sales guarantees 3 024 4 135
Other guarantees 98 107
Total guarantees not recognized 10 830 11 910
Guarantees related to jointly controlled entities primarily relates to Qatalum. Qatar Petroleum and Hydro have issued a
completion guarantee in favor of the lenders on a pro rata but not joint basis. The guarantee covers due and punctual payment
of interest and repayments. The guarantee terminates when a set of objective criteria related to the completion of the project
has been fulfilled.
Guarantees in connection with the sale of companies, referred to as sales guarantees in the table above, reflect the maximum
contractual amount that Hydro could be liable for in the event of certain defaults or the realization of specific uncertainties. In
addition, Hydro has certain guarantees relating to sales of companies that are unspecified in amount and unlimited in time. No
amounts relating to such guarantees are included in the table above. Hydro believes that the likelihood of any material liability
arising from guarantees relating to sales of companies is remote. Historically, Hydro has not made any significant
indemnification payments under such guarantees and no amount has been accrued in the consolidated financial statements.
Hydro estimates that the fair value of guarantees related to sale of companies is immaterial.
Note 38 - Contingent liabilities and contingent assets
Hydro is involved in or threatened with various legal and tax matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Hydro is of the
opinion that resulting liabilities, if any, will not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated results of operations, liquidity
or financial position. See note 4 Critical accounting judgment and key sources of estimation uncertainty for additional
information.
Hydro has certain joint liabilities under Norwegian statutory regulations following from demergers. Under the Norwegian
public limited companies act section 14-11, Norsk Hydro ASA and Statoil ASA are jointly liable for liabilities of Norsk Hydro
ASA and Norsk Hydro Produksjon AS accrued before the demerger date of October 1, 2007. This statutory liability is
unlimited in time, but is limited in amount to the net value allocated to the non-defaulting party in the demerger. Similarly,
Norsk Hydro ASA and Yara International ASA are jointly liable for liabilities accrued before the demerger date of March 24,
2004 on the same conditions.
In connection with the merger of Hydro's petroleum activities with Statoil, Statoil assumed a share of 70 percent of the liability
for any obligations related to activities that on the time of the demerger were no longer a part of Hydro, including among other
things environmental obligations related to the former fertilizer and magnesium activities.