Bank ABC shareholders approve $93.3m dividend payment

26/03/2018 06:00 AST

Bank ABC shareholders today approved $93.3 million in dividend payment and a market making arrangement to support liquidity in ABC share price, at the bank's annual general meeting.

Consolidated net profit, attributable to the shareholders of the parent, for the year 2017 was $193 million, 6 per cent higher compared to $183 million reported for the previous year. The shareholders approved a cash dividend distribution of 3 per cent of the issued share capital ($0.03 per share), translating to approximately 48 per cent of the net profit for the year, attributable to the shareholders of the parent, amounting to $93.30 million.

Furthermore, the bank's shareholders approved the appointment of the Securities and Investment Company (SICO) as the designated market maker with respect to Bank ABC's ordinary shares listed on the Bahrain Bourse. This market making arrangement aims to inject more market liquidity, thereby assisting any shareholders who want to buy or sell Bank ABC shares to do so.

According to this arrangement, Bank ABC can repurchase a percentage of its own shares not exceeding 3 per cent of the total and can resell them, via the designated market maker, with a view to enhancing the liquidity of the bank's shares in the market.

"Over time, this increased liquidity should result in the intrinsic value of Bank ABC being better reflected in its share valuation," explained Dr Khaled Kawan, Group CEO of Bank ABC.

The market making programme with SICO will be in effect for an initial 12-month period following its establishment, so as to enable Bank ABC to gauge the success of the arrangement, but it may be extended thereafter if the Board of Directors considers it appropriate.

"The Bank ABC Group has had a longstanding issue in that the intrinsic value of Bank ABC is not fully reflected in its Bahrain Bourse share price. A number of factors have contributed to this, including the low trading volume of Bank ABC's ordinary shares on the Bahrain Bourse," Dr Kawan pointed out.

Bank ABC is a leading player in the region's banking industry and provides innovative wholesale financial products and services that include corporate banking, trade finance, project and structured finance, syndications, treasury products and Islamic banking. It also provides retail banking services through its network of retail banks in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

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