Muscat: The board of United Finance Company has proposed to reduce the company’s paid up capital from OMR34.91 million to OMR25 million. This will be done by returning the par value of the shares (100 baisas), worth up to OMR9.91 million, which represents some 28.4 per cent of the listed shares. In other words, some 2,840 shares will be cancelled for every 10,000 shares held by paying a par value of OMR284, according to a disclosure statement posted on the MSM website. The decision was made by the board at its meeting on January 29.
The proposed reduction will be subject to approvals by the Central Bank of Oman, Capital Market Authority and shareholders of the company at an extraordinary general meeting. The reduction requires an amendment to Article (5) of the Articles of Association of the company.
The board of directors will take all the required steps in this regard and identify the record date of the shares, which will benefit the shareholders.
Also, the company’s board has recommended a cash dividend of 3.5 per cent for 2017. The board also approved the financial results of 2017. The company has posted a net profit of OMR2.17 million for 2017, down from OMR4.51 million for the previous year. Total assets of the company by end-December 2017 were OMR119.29 million, against OMR119.63 million for the same period last year. Also, basic earnings per share stood at 6 baisas by end-December 2017, against 13 baisas for the same period in the previous year. The audited financials and dividend are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Oman and the shareholders of the company at the annual general meeting.
In another development, the board of directors of United Finance Company was informed by the management that the branch manager of the company in Nizwa had left the country suddenly without any prior notice to the company.
Management is currently investigating the Nizwa branch activities in light of this development. “Currently, there are no further details available to the board on this matter,” said a disclosure statement posted on the MSM website.
