Emirates NBD board approves cash dividend in line with estimates

Dubai's largest lender will hold a general assembly meeting on March 10

Emirates NBD's board approved distributing a cash dividend of 0.40 fils/share, pending approval of shareholders. Pawan Singh / The National

Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest lender by assets, said its board approved distributing a cash dividend of 0.40 fils per share for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, after reporting a 44 per cent surge in profit.

The dividend distribution is pending shareholders' approval at the bank's general assembly meeting, which is scheduled for March 10, Emirates NBD said on Sunday in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.

The pay out will amount to a total of Dh2.5 billion for the 2019 fiscal year, according to the lender.

The proposed cash dividend of 0.40 fils a share translates into a yield of 3 per cent on a pay out of 18 per cent, Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes said on Sunday.

"The dividend was in line with our expectation," EFG Hermes said. "While the dividend per share was the same as last year, the absolute amount of dividend rose 14 per cent year-on-year because of the increase in the bank’s shares due to the rights issue."

Emirates NBD's 2019 full-year profit rose 44 per cent to Dh14.5bn, boosted by the partial sale of its stake in payments company Network International. The results include a gain of Dh4.4bn on the partial disposal of Network International shares and a fair value measurement of the lender’s remaining stake in the company. Excluding the impact of the transaction, net profit rose 1 per cent year-on-year.

In 2019, Emirates NBD raised the foreign ownership limit of its shares to 20 per cent from 5 per cent and said it plans to further increase it to 40 per cent.