Cairo – Mubasher: The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of Eastern Co has approved to split the nominal value of the stock at EGP 1, instead of EGP 5.

The decision was based on a shrinkage in the company’s liquidity, which is now below the level determined by the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), the tobacco firm said in a filing to the EGX on Thursday.

The EGM also endorsed the amendment of articles 6 and 7 of the company’s articles of associations, according to the filing.

In March, the EGM approved splitting the stock at 1:3 ratio to become EGP 5, instead of EGP 15.

It is worth noting that Eastern Co posted a 42.5% surge in profits for fiscal year 2017/2018 due to higher revenues. Net profit stood at EGP 4.2 billion in the July-June period of FY17/18, compared to EGP 2.9 billion in FY16/17