Al Baraka AGM okays dividends, bonus shares of US$60.3 million

Manama : The annual General Meeting of Al Baraka Banking Group yesterday approved cash dividend payouts and bonus shares to shareholders of US$ 60.3 million. 

Approval was given to the proposed distribution of profits for the financial year ended 31 December 2017 through the transfer of 10 per cent of the net income amounting to US$ 12,902,882 to the statutory reserve distribution of US$ 24,133,587 as cash dividend to the shareholders (except for treasury shares) amounting to a US Cent 2 for each share equal to 2 per cent of the par value of the share, and the transfer of US$ 91,992,355 to the retained earnings. 

Recommendation to distribute bonus shares to shareholders, registered as of the date of the meeting, were also approved during the meeting held at Al Baraka headquarters in Bahrain Bay. This amounts to 3 shares for every 100 fully paid up shares (totaling US$ 36,200,381 and equal to 3pc of the issued and paid up capital) from the retained earnings subject to the required official approvals.

The meeting also okayed the payment of the shareholders Zakat (on the distributable dividends as of 31 December 2017) of US Cent 51.96 for each 1,000 shares, and authorized the ABG management to pay US$ 3,961,337 as Zakat on behalf of the shareholders, to be deducted directly from the retained earnings.

The Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) then was held and approved the increase of the issued and paid up share capital from US$ 1,206,679,374 to US$ 1,242,879,755 by transferring US$ 36,200,381 to the Share Capital and the issue of bonus shares of 3 shares for every 100 fully paid up shares to the shareholders registered as of the date of this meeting. 

The EGM approved also to increase the authorized capital of ABG to US$ 2.5 billion after the obtainment of the CBB approval. 

The Group’s financial results for year 2017 showed the total operating income stood at US$ 999 million. The net income reached US$ 207 million in 2017. Assets totaled US$25.5 billion at the 2017 year end, showing an increase of 9pc, while financing and investment portfolio increased by 9% to US$ 19.1 billion, total deposits by 8% to US$ 20.7 billion, and total equity by 25pc to US$ 2.5 billion. 

Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Chairman of Al Baraka Banking Group, Abdulla Ammar Al Saudi, Vice Chairman, Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Vice Chairman, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President & Chief Executive of the Group and all members of the Board of Directors were present.