Jazeera shareholders approve $66m cash dividends

21/05/2015 15:26 AST

Shareholders of Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways Group today approved a board proposal for the cash distribution of KD20 million ($66 million) as special dividend for the year 2014.

The proposal was approved during the company’s 13th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, held at the company’s office in Freedom Town, Kuwait.

Marwan Boodai, Jazeera Airways Group chairman, said: “In 2014 the board of directors made the strategic decision to further capitalise on the growth opportunities in our home market by focusing more on our core business, the passenger airline business, and to exit the capital-intensive aircraft leasing business with the sale our fleet of aircraft in January of 2015. The transaction, reflected in our 2014 financial accounts, resulted in an additional cash surplus of KD24 million ($79.3 million) for the year 2014 and lifted Jazeera Airways Group's cash balance to KD82 million ($270.9 million) - almost double our authorised and paid up capital of KD42 million ($138.7 million). As a result, the company today is cash-rich, asset-light, and plans to be debt-free by end of 2015 to pursue growth opportunities Jazeera Airways.”

“In addition to the KD20 million special dividend that was approved today, Jazeera Airways’ board of directors has recommended the distribution of an additional KD30 million ($99.1 million) in cash in 2015, subject to shareholder approval, in the form of shareholder pay outs as part of a share buyback scheme targeted to readjust the company’s capital in-line with the size of our current operations”, Boodai said.

The company’s share buyback programme, planned to take place in the second half of 2015, will be the first voluntary share buyback programme exercise in Kuwait based on the new share buyback procedures stated by Kuwait’s new Commercial Companies Law (97/2013).

Shareholder payments in 2015 may reach KD30 million, and will include a KD22 million ($72.7 million) pay out for the purchase of 220 million shares out of the total 420 million outstanding issued shares at the nominal price of 100 fils (KD0.1) and up to KD8 million ($26.4 million) in 2015 earnings and other reserves that are required by law to be distributed prior to executing the planned share buyback programme.

All payments will be executed separately in the next several months with the last payment expected to take place in August, pending regulator and shareholders approvals, the company said.

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