Emaar Properties PJSC has called for an Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) of its Board and shareholders on Monday 5pm at The Address Dubai Mall in Downtown Dubai to approve the proposal by the Board of Directors to distribute a Special Cash Dividend of AED 9 billion (US$ 2.45 billion) to the company’s shareholders.
If the meeting falls short of quorum, the next OGM will be held at 5pm on Monday, December 1, 2014 at the same venue.
The Special Cash Dividend follows the successful IPO and listing of the Emaar Malls Group, the shopping malls and retail business of Emaar Properties. Gaining overwhelming investor response, the IPO of Emaar Malls Group had recorded total orders of over AED 172 billion (US$ 46.8 billion).
With the approval of the special cash dividend, the total value of dividends to be distributed to Emaar’s shareholders this year will be over AED 17.12 billion (US$ 4.66 billion) – one of the largest announced by any listed company in the UAE. This is about 250 per cent of the par value of Emaar ‘s shares, underlining the strong value creation by Emaar .
Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties , said, “The additional cash dividend is a strong demonstration of our commitment to create long-term value for our shareholders. Their confidence in our growth strategy has been our inspiration in undertaking the IPO for Emaar Malls Group , which is now listed on Dubai Financial Market.” He added, “This year has been exceptional for Emaar in our concerted attempts at value creation for our stakeholders with all our core businesses – property, malls and hospitality & leisure – recording robust growth. Our international operations are also robust and we will continue to draw on our proven competencies to further establish Emaar as one of the most valuable and admired companies.
“We will also leverage the positive growth environment of Dubai, which is preparing to host the World Expo 2020, and strengthen our partnerships to create cities of the future in line with the growth vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.” In April, Emaar declared dividend of AED 8 billion (US$ 2.18 billion), including 15 per cent cash dividend, equivalent to about AED 975 million (US$ 265.5 million), and 10 per cent bonus shares, or 650 million shares, valued at about AED 7.12 billion (US$ 1.94 billion) at AED 10.95 per share, as of April 23, 2014.
Emaar recorded a net operating profit of AED 2.489 billion (US$ 678 million) and revenue of AED 7.039 billion (US$ 1.916 billion) during the first nine months of 2014. Emaar Malls recorded a total revenue of AED 1.898 billion (US$ 517 million) during the same period, which is 27 per cent of Emaar ‘s total revenue. The company’s flagship asset, The Dubai Mall welcomed over 58 million visitors during the first nine months of 2014.
With assets of AED 64.93 billion (US$ 17.68 billion) as of 2013 end and an impressive land bank of over 226 million sq m in high-growth international markets, Emaar launched several new major projects this year, which received strong investor response.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
