BALTIMORE, MARYLAND -- April 10, 2003 - The Board of Directors of Petroleum & Resources Corporation today declared an interim dividend of $0.13 per share, payable June 1, 2003, to stockholders of record May 16, 2003, and announced the fund's performance for the First Quarter.
For the three months ended March 31st, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends as well as capital gain distributions paid, was -1.7 percent. Comparable figures for the Dow Jones Energy Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were -0.1 percent and -3.2 percent, respectively.
For the twelve months ended March 31st, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends as well as capital gain distributions paid, was -16.5 percent. Comparable figures for the Dow Jones Energy Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were -21.9 percent and -24.8 percent, respectively.
Petroleum & Resources' net asset value at March 31, 2003, is compared with the year earlier in the following table:
Net Asset Value
|
|
3/31/03 |
3/31/02 |
| Net assets |
$438,961,751 |
$556,009,791 |
| Shares outstanding |
21,460,567 |
21,147,563 |
| Net assets per share |
$20.45* |
$26.29 |
*After capital gain distribution of $0.09 per share paid in March 2003.
SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS
During the three months ended March 31, 2003, Petroleum & Resources added no new names to its investment list, nor were any holdings eliminated. The Corporation added to its holdings in Albemarle Corp., Arch Coal Inc., Baker Hughes, Inc., BP plc ADR, Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., and TotalFinaElf ADR. The Corporation reduced its holdings in Apache Corp., BJ Services Co., Nabors Industries Ltd., and Ocean Energy, Inc.
The First Quarter Report is expected to be released on or about April 22, 2003.
Petroleum & Resources Corporation is a Baltimore-based closed-end investment company. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Exchange, and its symbol is PEO.
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For further information, please contact:
Douglas G. Ober, Chairman
Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr., Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel
(410) 752-5900 or (800) 638-2479
E-mail: contact@peteres.com
Website: www.peteres.com
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