The Annual General Meeting of Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank, a leading publicly quoted investment bank, approved all proposals set forth by its Board of Directors, including a cash dividend payout of US$47.7 million, or US cents 13.5 per share.
The distribution, a 138 per cent spike over the US$20 million offered last year, follows a milestone year for the Bank, which saw a five-fold surge in Net Profits from US$37.6 million to a record US$183.8 million in 2006.
It is also the first dividend payment since Ithmaar Bank went public last year following a hugely successful Private Placement and IPO that raised its Paid-up Capital to US$360 million.
The meeting, held at the Inter Continental Regency Hotel in Manama yesterday, was presided over by Chairman Khalid Abdulla-Janahi. The AGM, which opened with a recitation of the Holy Quran, also saw the shareholders approving the Board’s proposal that US$130 million be transferred to the Retained Earnings account and US$16.8 million to the Statutory Reserve.
“We are extremely proud of the results the Bank achieved during 2006 and especially that we are able to distribute dividends to our shareholders in our first year as a publicly traded company,” Mr. Janahi remarked.
The assembly also approved a 4:1 split of the Bank’s shares, bringing the nominal value of the shares to US cents 25 each and increasing the number of tradable shares four fold. This goes in line with the majority of the companies listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange and provides a wider base for trading.
“I am also pleased to announce the approval of the “Ithmaar education & training Fund”, a major new initiative that will give us a new way to contribute to the region’s growth and sustainable development,” continued Mr. Janahi.
“Working in coordination with top-tier universities in the United Kingdom, this Fund will provide high level training and post graduate education to promising young students from Bahrain and across the region. With an initial capital of US$4.2 million, the project will be the first of its kind in Bahrain.”
Present at the meeting were Ithmaar Bank Shareholders, representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Central Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain Stock Exchange, the registrar KPMG Fakhro, Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers and legal advisors Towers & Hamlins.
“The region is at the beginning of a remarkable period of economic growth, which we are well positioned to take full advantage of. However, as a globally focused institution, Ithmaar Bank has the resources to seek out and exploit opportunities wherever in the world they may be,” Mr. Janahi explained.
“We believe that balanced portfolios spread across diverse geographical regions and business sectors are the key to the Bank’s continued growth, both in terms of its size and future profits,” he said.
About Ithmaar Bank
Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. is a 22-year-old bank licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange.
Ithmaar Bank, which has a paid-up capital of US$360 million, is a full service investment bank, with operations covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as South Asia, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Besides holding significant investments in the banking, financial services and real estate sectors in different markets, the main activities of the Bank include underwriting business (equity and other financings), private equity (structuring, participation and portfolio management), project financing, and advisory business (capital market, merger & acquisitions and project advisory).
Ithmaar Bank’s flagship companies include Shamil Bank, Solidarity (an Islamic insurance company headquartered in Bahrain); Faisal Private Bank (Switzerland), Faysal Bank Limited (Pakistan) and Ithmaar Development Company.
The Bank’s shares are listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange.
For more information on Ithmaar Bank, please visit the Bank’s website on www.ithmaarbank.com
