Emma Delaney will take the helm at OMV this autumn, becoming the Austrian energy and chemicals group’s first female chief executive. Her appointment on 1 September, under an initial three-year contract, arrives just as the company is rewriting its payout playbook and recalibrating its market assumptions against a backdrop of operational headwinds.
Shareholders gathering for the May annual meeting face a generous proposal: a total distribution of €4.40 per share, comprising a regular dividend of €3.15 and a special payout of €1.25. The ex-dividend date and payment are penciled in for June, provided the resolution passes. But the bigger story lies further ahead. From the 2026 financial year, OVM will scrap its current model in favour of a formula that funnels 50% of the dividends it receives from Borouge Group International directly to shareholders, plus 20% to 30% of operational cash flow excluding BGI’s contribution. That linkage to chemicals and investment income marks a deliberate shift, though the planned BGI initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has slipped to 2027, forcing an interim adjustment to the 2026 payout.
Delaney, who most recently ran a sprawling global business at bp covering fuels, biofuels, lubricants, aviation fuels and e-mobility with over 50,000 staff across roughly 50 countries, inherits a company that has already begun repositioning under outgoing CEO Alfred Stern. Her mandate is to accelerate the transformation from a pure oil-and-gas producer toward a more sustainable chemicals play, and the board has reinforced continuity by extending CFO Reinhard Florey’s term by two years.
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A tangible symbol of that strategic direction is a €65 million innovation campus under construction in Schwechat, slated to open in the first half of 2027. The hub will bring labs, pilot plants and test areas for biotechnology, green hydrogen and carbon capture directly under one roof, pushing research closer to industrial application.
Operationally, the opening months of 2026 proved tougher. Hydrocarbon output slid 7% in the first quarter to 288,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, dragged down by disruptions in the Middle East, New Zealand and Romania. Management described the environment as “exceptionally turbulent” after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz rattled oil, LNG and petrochemical flows. Despite that, OMV raised its key price assumptions — Brent now expected at $85 to $95 a barrel and DHE gas at around €45 per megawatt hour — while keeping its production forecast steady at 280,000 to 290,000 boe/d.
The market has so far taken the mix of higher price assumptions and operational drag in its stride. Shares closed at €62.75 on Friday, up 1.95% on the day and just 0.71% below a 52-week high of €63.20. The year-to-date gain stands at nearly 30% — a level that suggests investors are betting heavily on Delaney’s ability to steer the transition without losing momentum. The AGM will provide the first real test of that confidence.
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