Waha Capital recommends cash dividend of 20%

Abu Dhabi / WAM

The Board of Directors of Waha Capital has recommended distribution of a cash dividend of 20 fils per share, equivalent to 20 percent of its paid-up capital, for eligible shares.
Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, Chairman of Waha Capital, said, “Thanks to our increasingly diversified portfolio of investments, Waha Capital produced a strong performance in 2015 despite challenging market conditions, and we believe the proposed dividend reflects this. We remain fully focused on maximising shareholder value. Our robust balance sheet, and in particular our healthy cash position, will allow Waha Capital to deepen and broaden our investments in high potential areas of the regional economy.”
The recommendation was made at a board meeting which also approved the company’s 2015 audited financial statements, corporate governance report for 2015, and the company’s proposed new Articles of Association to comply with the new Companies Law. The company’s annual general meeting which will be held in March will consider and vote on the company’s financial statements, proposed dividend, proposed board fees, appointment of the company’s auditors, and approval of the new Articles of Association.
Waha Capital reported a 2015 net profit of AED588 million, driven by key investments in the aircraft leasing and consumer finance sectors, as well as a strong performance by the company’s capital markets portfolios. This represented a return on equity of 14.3 percent, which is one of the highest figures achieved for 2015 by a publicly listed company in the region.
Net profit for 2015 was 18 percent higher than the adjusted net profit of AED498.1 million achieved a year earlier, after taking out net non-recurring items, primarily the one-off gain that the company recorded in 2014 on the company’s stake in
AerCap Holdings.