Al Baraka AGM approves dividend, bonus payout

Manama

Al Baraka Banking Group BSC (ABG) held its Ordinary and Extra-ordinary General Meetings yesterday during which shareholders approved its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015.

The group’s financial results for 2015 showed a net profit of US$286 million reflecting an increase of 4 per cent, while the total income reached one billion US dollars for the first time since the start of the Group activities 12 years ago. Similarly, balance sheet items witnessed moderate increases. Total assets increased by 5pc, total finance and investments by 4pc, customer accounts by 2pc and total equity by 1pc as at the end of December 2015 in comparison with the end of December 2014.

The meeting also approved the proposed distribution of profits for the financial year to transfer 10pc of the net income amounting to US$16,274,131 to the statutory reserve, to distribute US$22,143,101 as cash dividend to the shareholders, amounting to 2 cents for each share equal to 2pc of the par value of the share, and to transfer of US$124,324,073 to the retained earnings.

Approval was also given to distribute bonus shares for shareholders registered as of the date of the meeting amounting to 3 shares for every 100 fully paid up shares (totalling US$33,472,382 equal to 3pc of the issued and paid up capital) from the retained earnings after obtainment of the required official
approvals.

The meeting also approved a remuneration of US$1.5m to board of directors and the recommendation of the board of  directors to reappoint Ernst and Young as Auditors for the Financial year ending 31/12/2016, and to authorise and empower the board of directors or its delegate to fix their remuneration. Then, the meeting reviewed the Corporate Governance Report as per CBB instruction.

Then the meeting approve the payment of the shareholders’ Zakat for the distributable dividends as of 31 December 2015, where to pay 51.6 US cents for each 1000 shares by the shareholders for the dividends distributed and received in cash and to authorize ABG management to pay US$3,962,022 as Zakat on behalf of the shareholders for the dividends, not distributed in cash, to be deducted directly from the retained earnings.

The Extraordinary General Meeting then was held and approved the increase of the issued and paid up share capital from US$1,115,746,069 to US$1,149,218,451 by transferring US$33,472,382 to the Share Capital and issue bonus shares of 3 shares for every 100 fully paid up shares to the shareholders registered as of the date of this meeting.

Commenting on the results, Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Chairman of Al Baraka Banking Group, said, “We are very proud to see continuing growth in the revenue and business of Al Baraka Banking Group, and further elevation in its regional and global standing.”

For his part, Abdulla Ammar Al Saudi, Vice Chairman of ABG, said that “ABG did well to maintain its record of growth and steadily increasing profitability, thanks to wise policies and strategies developed by the Group and are being implemented by all units.”

Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Member of the Board of Directors and President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group, said, “We are very pleased to see the contribution of all our banking units in the growth of profits of the Group, which reflects the sound financial positions enjoyed by these units.”