2008 Annual Report - SBM Offshore

SBM Offshore Annual Report 2008 / Overview11Turnoveras % ofsharecapitalHighestsharepricein €Lowestsharepricein €ClosingSharepriceIn €Closingshareprice inUS$2004 179.69 11.77 8.39 11.69 15.872005 170.26 18.14 11.44 17.06 20.102006 221.22 26.45 17.19 26.05 34.332007 240.52 31.52 19.85 21.60 31.802008 309.94 26.77 8.72 9.35 13.07Share prices for the years 2004 through 2006 are restated for thefour for one share split effected on 2 June 2006.At 31 December 2008, three institutional investors, CapitalResearch and Management Company and Capital IncomeBuilder Inc, both from the United States of America, andSchroders Investment Management from the UnitedKingdom have, as required under the Major Holdings inListed Companies Disclosure Act, disclosed an interestin the capital of SBM Offshore in excess of 5%.At 31 December 2008, employees of the Company own727,472 shares in SBM Offshore through an EmployeeShare Ownership Plan (ESOP).DividendThe dividend proposal will be to maintain the same dividendlevel as for 2007, at US$ 0.93 per share, representing anexceptional pay-out ratio of 60%. To preserve balancesheet flexibility and cash-flow predictability the dividendwill also, exceptionally, be payable 50% in cash and 50%in shares.As in previous years, the annual dividend will be calculatedin US Dollars, but will be payable in Euros. The conversioninto Euros will be effected on the basis of the exchangerate on 14 May 2009. The same exchange rate will applyfor the dividend payment in shares of SBM Offshore.Based on the year-end closing price, the proposed dividendof US$ 0.93 per share gives a yield of 7.12% per share.It is the Company’s intention to return to the usual 50% ofnet profit pay-out ratio for 2009, with the choice of paymentof the dividend in cash or in shares of SBM Offshore atthe election of each shareholder.Tow-out of semi-submersible production platform Thunder Hawk for Gulf of Mexico