FHL to pay out $3m extra special dividend

September 07, 2009 05:46:48 PM

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Fijian Holdings Ltd has announced an extra special dividend of more than $3 million for its shareholders on top of a second interim dividend of some $2 million for its 2009 financial year, which ended June 30, 2009.

In a statement on the South Pacific Stock Exchange today, FHL said the special dividend payment was a result of the extra-ordinary profit it made this year and would be paid out on November 5.

The company last week announced a pre-tax profit of $55 million for 2009 ($13.29m in 2008), the highest in its corporate history and a result, it said, that was mainly driven by the divestment this year of its 29 percent shareholding in Fosters Group Ltd, which it had sold for $40 million.

“The company paid an interim dividend of $1.047 million for “A” class shareholders and $1 million for “B” class shareholders during the year. The directors recommended the payment of a final dividend of $1.046 million for “A” class shareholders and $1 million for “B” class shareholders from the profits for the year ended June 30, 2009,” FHL stated in its financial statement, also released over the weekend.

“The directors also recommended an extra one-off dividend of $1.047 million for “A” class shareholders and $2 million for “B” class shareholders from the profits for the year ended June 30, 2009. Total dividends paid and proposed for the year ended June 30 2009 amounted to $7.140 million.”

This translates to a total dividend of 30 cents per share for “A” class shareholders and 20 cents per share for “B” class shareholders.

When announcing this year’s financial results, FHL chairman Isoa Kaloumaira said the company’s investments in the finance, retail, property and building and construction sectors performed well in the prevailing tough economic conditions. 

FHL’s “A” class shares are listed on SPSE while its “B” class shares are owned by the 14 Fijian provinces through the Fijian Affairs Board at the Ministry of Fijian Affairs.

FHL’s A class shares are listed on SPSE’s “restricted board”, limiting its ownership only to indigenous Fijians whose names appear in the Vola ni Kawa Bula, a registry of native landowners. 

FHL shares last traded at $2.69.