GFH Financial Group has announced the conclusion of its annual general meeting   and extraordinary general meeting for the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2018. The shareholders approved the distribution of cash dividends at a rate of 3.34 percent of the nominal value of the group’s ordinary shares for a total amount of $30 million (equating to $0.0087 per share). The shareholders also approved the distribution of $55 million in bonus shares at a rate of 5.97 percent of the nominal value of a share, equating to one bonus share for every 16.74 shares held by the shareholders of GFH on the “record date,” subject to the approval of relevant authority.

The shareholders’ approval was also received for the elimination of 207,547,170 treasury shares held by GFH, equating to 5.637 percent of the total issued shares, while 20 million treasury shares will be retained for the purpose of market making and liquidity provision activities as approved by the regulators. 

The shareholders reviewed and ratified the group’s consolidated financial statements for 2018. The year was once again marked by strong performance, with the group delivering net profit of $115 million, an 11.4 percent increase for the year.

Jassim Al-Seddiqi, chairman of the board of GFH, said: “We are pleased to announce another robust dividend for shareholders underscoring the success of the group’s strategy and its continued ability to deliver strong and sustainable growth. Value creation for shareholders and investors remains a priority for GFH and continues to drive our efforts to further diversify and maximize the performance of our regional and international portfolios of financial and infrastructure assets.” 

Hisham Alrayes, GFH CEO, said: “Having entered 2019 in a better position than ever, we are committed to building on the progress we have achieved to date and effectively levering our solid financial position and strong levels of liquidity to making profitable, new investments while also continuing to extract value and secure strategic exits from our legacy and maturing assets.”