Amãna Bank declares 6th consecutive annual dividend with 24% increase

Wednesday, 21 June 2023 00:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Chairman Asgi Akbarally

Managing Director/CEO

Mohamed Azmeer

Against the backdrop of its positive performance trend, Amãna Bank recently declared its 6th successive annual dividend, demonstrating the Bank’s commitment to delivering long-term value to its shareholders.

With this latest announcement made to the CSE, the Bank’s dividends declared since 2018 stand in excess of Rs. 1.4 billion.

Offering its shareholders an Interim Scrip Dividend of Rs. 0.12 per share, Amãna Bank’s 2023 dividend pay-out of Rs. 334.1 million reflects a 24% increase compared to the dividend declared in 2022.

The 2023 Scrip Dividend, which is in line with the directions of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to all banks on restricting cash dividends, is issued in the proportion of one share for approximately every 23.5 shares held in the Bank and is valued at Rs. 2.40 per share. Once the Scrip Dividend is concluded, the Bank’s total number of shares will increase by 118,317,854 to reach 2,902,267,365. The value of reserves to be capitalised for the issue after accounting for withholding tax is Rs. 284.0 million.

Amãna Bank’s Chairman Asgi Akbarally said: “We are delighted to have announced our sixth consecutive dividend despite the economic challenges in the country. This dividend declaration is a testament to our strong financial performance, resilient business model, and commitment to delivering shareholder value.”

Managing Director/CEO Mohamed Azmeer said: “This dividend announcement demonstrates our unwavering commitment in delivering consistent growth and returns to our shareholders. Having started our dividend journey in 2018, our resilient performance in the backdrop of challenging market conditions, has enabled us to continue growing our dividend pay-outs. With the Bank pursuing many growth prospects, we are confident of maintaining our strong performance trend and facilitate continuous rewards to our shareholders.”

The dividend pay-out reflects the Bank’s robust financial health, efficient management, and prudent risk practices. Having achieved its best-ever PBT of Rs. 1.2 billion in 2022, Amãna Bank went on to achieve double-digit growth in PBT for Q1 2023 to reach Rs. 423.5 million.