Bahrain National Holding approves 22% cash dividend payout

MANAMA: Shareholders of Bahrain National Holding – the parent company of Bahrain National Insurance and Bahrain National Life Assurance – have approved cash dividend of 22 per cent of paid-up capital for 2019 compared with 15pc in the previous year.

The announcement follows the company’s annual general assembly yesterday attended by shareholders, regulatory authority and key government bodies’ representatives.

During the meeting, the shareholders approved the group’s financial results for 2019 wherein the group reported a net profit of BD5.03 million, while the net profit attributable to the parent company was BD4.8m.

Commenting, chairman Farouk Almoayyed said: “The year 2019 is special for the group as we celebrated our 50th anniversary. The group recorded its highest profit in the past decade. The group achieved a net profit of BD5.03m compared with BD3.49m in 2018, while the net profit attributable to the shareholders was BD4.79m compared with BD3.28m in the previous year. The achievement is commendable as it was against a backdrop of intense competition, soft insurance rates, drop in new vehicle demand, and additional cost pressures due to value added tax and need to comply with additional regulations.”

BNH chief executive Sameer Alwazzan said: “During 2019 we built on the momentum of 2018, recording a robust operational performance across both our insurance subsidiaries. Motor insurance was the most significant contributor to our underwriting performance and on the medical insurance front, growth was boosted by significant wins of new accounts, while retaining most of our performing portfolio. Investment markets were very supportive in 2019 thanks to cuts in interest rates as well as positive developments on the trade war front. The upgrade of the group’s core IT system is progressing well. There have been some minor delays in the short run as the user teams have been diligently testing and improving key processes. These changes will help us to offer our digital suite of products, minimise manual operations and improve the service levels as well as responsiveness to customer requirements.”

Also, during the meeting, Mr Almoayyed, Abdulhussain Dawani, Jehad Amin, Abdulrahman Juma, Ghassan Fakhroo, Ali Mahmood, Ayad Algosaibi, Talal Kanoo, Sami Zainal and Redha Faraj were elected as board members for the three years from 2020-2022.

After the AGM, the new board held its first meeting where Mr Almoayyed was appointed chairman and Abdulhussain Dawani vice chairman.

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