BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, July 8, 2004, - The Board of Directors of Petroleum & Resources Corporation today declared a dividend of $0.13 per share, payable September 1, 2004, to stockholders of record, August 17, 2004.
Performance
For the six months ended June 30th, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends as well as capital gain distributions paid, was 10.2 percent. Comparable figures for the Dow Jones Energy Index and the Standard & Poor's Index of 500 Stocks were 12.9 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.
For the twelve months ended June 30th, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends as well as capital gain distributions paid, was 23.6 per cent. Comparable figures for the Dow Jones Energy Index and the Standard & Poor's Index of 500 Stocks were 29.3 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively.
The net asset value of Petroleum & Resources at June 30, 2004, is compared with the year earlier in the following table:
|
6/30/04 |
6/30/03 |
|
| Net assets |
$568,508,104 |
$476,544,692 |
| Shares outstanding |
21,682,327 |
21,311,767 |
| Net assets per share |
$26.22* |
$22.36 |
*After capital gain distributions of $0.09 per share paid in March 2004.
Securities Transactions
During the three months ended June 30, 2004, Petroleum & Resources added one new name to its investment list with the purchase of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., and added to its existing holdings in BP plc ADR, ConocoPhillips, Duke Energy Corp. (by conversion of the Duke Energy Corp. Convertible Preferred described below), Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., and XTO Energy Inc.
Four issues were eliminated from the investment list with the sales of Kinder Morgan, Inc., Stone Energy Corp., TECO Energy, Inc., and the conversion of the Duke Energy Corp. 8.25% Conv. Pfd due 2004 into shares of Duke Energy Corp common stock. Reductions were made in the holdings of Albemarle Corp., Aqua America, Inc., ChevronTexaco Corp., Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., and Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. ADR.
The Semi-Annual Report is expected to be released on or about July 30, 2004.
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.
For further information, please contact:
Douglas G. Ober, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President
Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr., Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
(410) 752-5900 or (800) 638-2479
E-mail: contact@peteres.com
Website: www.peteres.com