Batelco Group’s shareholders have approved a full year cash dividend of BD41.58 million ($110.29 million), at a value of 25 fils per share at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held today (March 18).

Of the cash dividend, 10 fils per share was already paid during the third quarter of last year, with the remaining 15 fils to be paid this month, said a statement.

The group also held its Extra-Ordinary-General Meeting (EGM) in relation to proposed changes to the memorandum and articles of association in accordance with the requirements of the Commercial Companies Law Act 50 for the year 2014.  

The meetings, held at Batelco’s Hamala headquarters, were attended by shareholders, company directors and executive management.

Shaikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, chairman, said: “We are pleased to continue to build and return value to our shareholders as demonstrated by the dividend payment, and the progress made throughout the past year in achieving growth and diversification of the group.

“2014 was marked by strong cash generation and growing customer numbers across the Group, with the total subscriber base now standing at over 9.5 million across the 14 geographies of the operation, representing six per cent growth year on year.”

“Our strategy and on-going efforts to achieve operational excellence and growth ensures the Group provides shareholders with excellent dividend yields, among the best in our industry region wide. We will continue during 2015 to deliver the best value for shareholders,” Shaikh Hamad added.

He also thanked the shareholders for their ongoing support for the group’s strategies, and also the management teams and employees across the group for their ongoing efforts.

“We have entered 2015 in a strong financial position; our growth over 2014 positions us as one of the most important organisations in Bahrain and gives us a stable platform to work from,” for Shaikh Hamad.

“We remain focussed on our customers at home and overseas to ensure our provisioning exceeds their expectations. Furthermore, we also remain focussed on strengthening our performance to better serve all Batelco Group stakeholders,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service