BML to pay MVR 9.29 per share in dividends from first six months' profit

Bank of Maldives Plc has announced that they will pay an interim dividend of MVR 9.29 per share from the bank’s profits for the first six months of 2013.

This is the first time the bank has announced to pay a dividend to shareholders since 2008.

The public limited bank said that the their board of directors has approved to pay a total of MVR 50 million as interim dividends for each share, which originally held a face value of MVR 50.

“This marks the end of a painful and challenging journey that began in 2009 when the Bank reported record level non-performing loans. However, in recent years Bank of Maldives has reported record level earnings and operating profit and the company returned to profit in 2012,” a press statement by the bank released today said.

The bank's year-to-date net profit was revealed as a record of MVR 527 million for the period ending June 30th 2013. This is the highest net profit reported by a listed company in Maldives in the first half of 2013.

Numbers by the bank shows that their operating profit reached MVR 457 Million in the first 6 months of 2013, an increase of 74 percent over the same period last year. It also shows that the bank’s Net Interest Income increased from MVR 247 Million in June 2012 to MVR 275 Million in the 6 months to June 2013, an 11% increase compared to the same period last year.

Compared to the first six months of 2012, shareholder’s equity has increased by 119 percent while the total assets increased from MVR 9.8 billion to MVR 12.4 billion.

“This strong growth and financial performance enabled the Bank to strengthen the balance sheet by allocating full Q2 profit for non performing loans. Whilst there are no new major nonperforming loans, this step was taken to fully comply with MMA regulations while ensuring a record profit for first half of the year,” the bank’s statement read.

Commenting on the its performance, the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Peter Horton said, “I am extremely pleased that following continued shareholder support and hard work from all of our staff, we are now at a point where dividend can resume. The Bank continues to perform very strongly, but at the same time is now maintaining rigorous focus on regulatory compliance.”

He added “The profitability and dividend payment will be sustainable going forward. This is an interim dividend and at MVR 9.29 for the half year places us in a strong position to pay the highest full year dividend in the Bank’s recent history at year end.”

Commenting on this success story Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Abdullah Shiham Hassan said, “The strong performance reflected the bank's ability to turnaround the business and is leading to a very promising future ahead. Therefore we will be returning MVR 50m to shareholders as an interim dividend. I am confident that the team is well aligned and capable of delivering growth consistent with the economic environment and would like to congratulate the whole team for this extra-ordinary achievement”.