Kingdom Holding Co. plans $267m dividend

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) is planning to distribute $267 million (Dh980 million) in dividends for 2023.

KHC is a Riyadh-based Saudi holding company, which had incurred a loss of 85 per cent in profit last year.

Despite the loss, Alwaleed Bin Talal, founder of the board of the investment company, proposed a 2.8 per cent cash dividend subject to shareholders approval.

The company’s decrease was linked to a singular profit from the sale of half of its ownership in Four Seasons Holdings in 2022, which was not repeated in the current year, the company said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

The company reported an increase in financial charges and operating costs in the hotel and other sectors, in addition to a decline in dividend income.

Earnings per share dropped to Dh0.26 in 2023 from Dh1.84 in 2022.

In 2022, Bin Talal sold a 17 per cent stake in KHC to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.