Bank Muscat AGM approves 35% cash dividend, 5% bonus shares

Muscat: Bank Muscat held its Annual Ordinary General Meeting (AGM) and an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the bank’s shareholders using the electronic platform developed by Muscat Clearing and Depository Company (MCDC) on May 19.
Both the meetings were presided over by Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani, Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors.
At the EGM, the shareholders of the bank approved the renewal of the Meethaq Sukuk Programme amounting to OMR500 million. The EGM also authorised the Board of Directors of the bank or those delegated by the board to establish and approve Meethaq Sukuk Programmes. The EGM also approved the amendment of the bank’s Articles of Association in light of the new Commercial Companies Law (No. 18/2019).
At the AGM, shareholders of the bank ratified the pay-out of 40 per cent dividend for 2019. Continuing its strong dividend payment track record, the bank paid out 35 per cent cash dividend for the financial year that ended on December 31, 2019. In addition, shareholders also received a 5 per cent dividend in the form of bonus shares. Thus shareholders received a cash dividend of OMR0.035 per ordinary share of OMR0.100 each aggregating to OMR108.317 million on the bank’s existing share capital. In addition, shareholders also received bonus shares in the proportion of 1 share for every 20 ordinary shares aggregating to 154,739,168 shares of OMR0.100 each amounting to OMR15.474 million.
During the meeting, the bank also notified the assembly of its OMR1 million donation to the Ministry of Health as part of its efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Oman. Shareholders also approved the appointment of the Sharia Supervisory Board of Meethaq, the Bank's Islamic banking window, as well as the appointment of the bank’s statutory auditors and the external independent Sharia auditors for Meethaq.
Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani thanked all the stakeholders of the Bank including the shareholders, customers and the banking community for their support and commitment to Bank Muscat, which helped maintain the Bank’s performance momentum during the year. He added that Bank Muscat was poised to further consolidate its leadership position in the future.
Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani said that the Board of Directors of the Bank welcomed and supported the measures taken by the Central Bank of Oman and the Capital Market Authority to strengthen the financial sector in the Sultanate. He pointed out that the growth and achievements of the Bank would not have been possible without the far-sighted and appropriate economic policies of the government. He expressed his happiness with the strong financial results achieved by the bank in 2019, despite the challenges and intense competition in the banking sector. The bank posted a net profit of OMR185.55 million for the year 2019 compared to OMR179.63 million reported during the same period in 2018, an increase of 3.3 per cent.