Bahrain Cinema Company (Cineco), the market leaders in the entertainment industry in the kingdom, have approved  50 per cent dividends of paid-up capital to the shareholders.

Announcing this at the annual general meeting (AGM) and extraordinary general meeting (EGM) today (March 25), chairman of the board Dr Esam Abdulla Fakhro said the company will distribute dividends worth BD19.7 million ($52.2 million) to the shareholders.

The move comes following Cineco's 20 per cent jump in net profit which soared to BD7.5 million ($20 million) in 2014 over the previous year.

The company's net profit for the fourth quarter of 2014 hit BD803,666 compared to BD786,596 the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Fakhro said: "Every year is challenging, our aim is to keep growing and improving our services and the level of entertainment year after year. We ended the year with sound results, which we hope to build on in 2015."

"For 2014, we reported a commendable rise of 20 per cent in net profit as compared to the previous year. We are very pleased with the significant progress the company has achieved and will leave no stone unturned in placing the company on a path towards growth and success," he stated.

From humble beginnings in 1968 in Bahrain, Cineco has succeeded over the years by pioneering many firsts, establishing benchmarks in Bahrain’s entertainment industry.

Cineco now owns and operates a total of 44 cinema screens in Bahrain besides 27 screens in Qatar.

“We have ambitious growth plans for the years ahead; we are planning to introduce new cinemas in Qatar and also a new restaurant in Qatar at the Gulf Mall Qatar which will be open to the public towards the beginning of the third quarter of 2015, stated Fakhro.

"There are other expansion plans as well which we will announce in the near future," he added.

The meeting, held at Cineco Megaplex in Bahrain City Centre, was attended by board members, the executive management team and the shareholders.

Earlier in the meeting, the CEO Ahmed Rashid said: "Bahrain Cinema Company has shown tremendous growth in the past 13 years. The company showed exceptional performance in its market capitalization where share values surged by 1300 per cent, which translates into an increase of 100 per cent every year for the last 13 years since 2001."

"We have very clear goals to further improve the company performance by implementing new strategies, adopting an enhanced business model and achieve greater results," he added.-TradeArabia News Service