Dubai: Emirates NBD’s general assembly meeting on Wednesday reviewed the banking group’s financial results and approved the directors’ report.
The meeting also approved the distribution of a 40 per cent cash dividend (40 fils per share), in addition to reviewing and approving the auditors’ report and the consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2018.
The bank had reported a net profit of Dh10 billion, up 20 per cent in 2018 over the prior year.
“The UAE economy, and the banking sector in particular, remained resilient in 2018, despite a challenging environment across global markets,” said Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group, in his capacity as Emirates NBD chairman.
“The UAE remained the most competitive economy in the Mena [Middle East & North Africa] region last year, as the government continues to progress the country’s positioning among the world’s top business-friendly nations.”
The meeting also approved proposals on the issuance of non-convertible securities that are to be issued by the bank, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities. The meeting also approved various debt funding programmes to expand the bank’s business.
“Looking ahead, with just one year to go until Expo 2020 Dubai, we can see the pace of development stepping up, especially in terms of projects and transport infrastructure,” Shaikh Ahmad said.
“As the official banking partner for Expo 2020 Dubai, we are glad to showcase our innovations in smart technology and digital banking through our site-wide presence as ‘Bank of the Future’ at the event.”
The shareholders also backed the renewal of approval to increase the bank’s share capital by an amount of up to Dh7.35 billion through the issuance of new shares with a nominal value of Dh1 for a subscription price per share at no less than 10 per cent discount to the prevailing market price.
Shareholders in the bank will be prioritised when it comes to the subscription of the new shares, in proportion to their respective shareholdings at the relevant time.
Emirates Islamic’s general assembly
Emirates Islamic held its forty-third General Assembly Meeting on Wednesday. At the meeting, a review of the year ended December 31, 2018 was presented.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, Hesham Abdullah Al Qassim, chairman of Emirates Islamic, vice-chairman and managing director of Emirates NBD, said, “Emirates Islamic reinforced its position as a leading financial institution in the UAE in 2018, playing an instrumental role in the development of the overall Islamic finance sector. We delivered strong results for the year, demonstrated by a 32 per cent increase in net profit to Dh924 million.”
The meeting approved proposals for various future funding programmes, including the issuance of Sharia-compliant, non-convertible securities and other Sharia-compliant, medium-term funding programmes, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals.
