Mubasher: The ordinary general meeting (OGM) of Gulf Insurance Group (GIG) approved the board’s recommendation to distribute cash dividends at 38 fils per share, 38% of the share’s nominal value, for the fiscal year (FY) 2019.

The approval came during the general assembly’s meeting earlier on Monday, according to a bourse statement.

In 2019, the insurer reported an increase in profits by 12% to KWD 13.3 million ($44 million), compared with KWD 11.9 million ($39.2 million) in 2018.

During the meeting, a new board of directors was named for the coming three-year term.

Farkad Abdalla Al Sanea has been named as the company's chairman, and seven other members have been appointed, including Faisal Hamad Al Ayyar as deputy chairman, according to a separate disclosure to Boursa Kuwait.

The board further called the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to discuss increasing issued and paid-up capital to KWD 20.48 million from KWD 18.7 million through a cash deposit of KWD 7.1 million, including a share premium worth KWD 5.3 million.

The capital hike will be carried out via a one-time transaction, subject to the approvals of relevant authorities, and to be allocated to the existing shareholders.