Bank of Georgia ups 2011 dividends 130% from 2010
TBILISI. May 28 (Interfax) - Bank of Georgia, the country's largest commercial bank, increased dividends for last year by 130% over 2010 as net profits increased 64.1%.
A statement issued by the bank says its shareholders voted at their AGM on May 24 to approve the board of directors' recommendation for dividends of 0.7 of a lari per share (0.3 of a lari for 2010).
The lending organization has placed 36,512,533 shares, meaning a total dividend payout of 25,558,800 lari, or 20% of net profits (135.7 million lari last year). The bank has not said for Interfax where the remaining net profits will go.
Shareholders approved the company's 2011 financial report audited by Ernst & Young, which had the bank's consolidated assets increasing 10.6% to 4.665 billion lari, including its credit portfolio of 2.616 billion lari (up 10.6%), obligations of 3.853 billion lari (up 16.3%), and equity of 812.6 million lari (up 17.2%).
Bank of Georgia's assets represented 36.8% of total Georgian banking sector assets last year.
The bank's stockholders are Bank of Georgia Holdings Plc (98.35%), Bank of New York (Nominees) Ltd. (1.2%), and private investors.
The official exchange rate for May 28: 1.6292 lari/$1.
