BML shareholders to receive MVR 258M in record dividend payout

Bank of Maldives (BML) shareholders have approved a total dividend payout of MVR 258 million with MVR 48 per share – in a record dividend payout reflecting the bank’s best ever performance in 2021. 

The dividend was approved with the unanimous vote of shareholders who attended BML’s Annual General Meeting held at Hotel Jen on Sunday night. 

57 shareholders attended the AGM in-person, while 17 attended via proxy. They hold 58 percent of the shares of the bank. 

The dividend approved included the interim dividend of MVR 13 per share paid out earlier this year and a final dividend of MVR 35 per share. 

It is the highest approved dividend in the bank's history. 

BML’s main shareholder, the government will receive MVR 131 million as dividend. The government will also receive MVR 543 million as business profit tax from the bank. 

At the AGM, shareholders also re-elected members of the bank’s board for another term. The eight members who represent the government were re-elected with 99.7 percent votes, while the votes to re-elect the three members who represent ordinary shareholders were unanimous. 

BML had generated a profit after tax of MVR 1.9 billion in 2021 – a 470 percent increase compared to 2020. It marked the best financial performance in the bank’s history. 

Speaking at the AGM, BML’s CEO and Managing Director Tim Sawyer expressed his appreciation to the bank’s staff, shareholders and customers. 

“I would like to extend my appreciation to our staff for their hard work and to our shareholders and customers for their confidence in the bank. While we will continue to work tirelessly to meet service expectations, the results today are evidence that the bank is in the strongest position it has ever been in,” he said.