Kuwait – Mubasher: Shareholders at Alargan International Real Estate Company’s annual general meeting (AGM) approved the board’s recommendation to distribute 10% cash dividends of the share’s nominal value, at 10 fils per share, for the fiscal year 2016.

“Dividends are paid to shareholders registered in the company's records as of the maturity date set for 13 June 2017, and paid to shareholders on 22 June 2017,” Alargan said in a statement released on Monday.

In 2016, the company succeeded in achieving its strategy owing to its combined business model, commented chairman Haitham Al-Khaled, highlighting that Alargan “advanced in the development of communities, residential projects and retail destinations that provide life-enhancing and sustainable solutions in the region, while consolidating its financial position and seeking new growth opportunities that add value to shareholders and stakeholders alike.”

The Kuwait-listed real estate firm reported KWD 1.8 million in net profit for the full-year 2016, while earnings per share (EPS) stood at 7.09 fils.

Setting aside the one-time gain seen in 2015 from a divestment in Saudi Arabia, Alargan’s operating profit amounted to KWD 2.95 million in 2016 against a loss of KWD 7.07 in 2015.

Year-on-year, revenues rose 37% to KWD 26.8 million in 2016 from KWD 19.5 million in 2015, while expenses fell 14% to KWD 25.1 million in 2016 from KWD29.1 million in 2015.

“These advancements were strictly executed with our core business principle and motto in mind; to provide sustainability in everything we do, through our operations, investments and returns to shareholders, and to build communities that enable our stakeholders to live the life they love,” the chairman added, according to the statement.