Serbia's Oil Firm NIS Raises 2013 Dividend 5.8%

Serbian oil company NIS, majority owned by Gazprom Neft, will pay an annual dividend of 80.22 Serbian dinars ($0.94) per share, up 5.8 percent from a year before, its shareholder assembly decided on Monday.

In February, NIS reported a 2.5 percent rise in 2013 net profit to 48.8 billion dinars, citing the stability of the dinar currency and higher consumption of oil derivatives that offset low margins.

The company said the shareholders' assembly earmarked a quarter of its 2013 profit, unchanged from a year ago, for dividend payment. At 1247 GMT, NIS shares traded at 892 dinars, up 0.57 percent from Friday's close.

NIS produces around 1.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) from fields in Serbia and is engaged in oil exploration in neighbouring Bosnia, Hungary and Romania.

($1 = 84.7 Serbian dinars)

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela, editing by David Evans)