Media ININ Economy We Trust
28-03-2019 Media in\ Abu Dhabi
The proposed cash dividend of 114 companies traded in the UAE capital markets increased to AED 37.2 billion from the year 2018, an increase of 16.2% compared to dividends for 2017.
The banking sector continued to lead the list of the most listed sectors in the financial markets in terms of cash dividends. The profits of 18 national banks, distributed to shareholders, reached 18.9 billion dirhams, representing 51% of the total value of the combined dividends.
According to the latest statistics issued by the banks, cash dividends increased by 13.4% over the previous year compared with 2017, which reflects the sector’s preservation of a rising trend in the distribution of returns to shareholders.
The banking sector in the UAE has made a remarkable profit from last year with a value of more than 42 billion dirhams, according to statistics published on the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial markets.
The average annual return on investment in the banking sector was 5% while the value of dividends due to free shares in banks reached about 10.12 billion dirhams.
The telecom sector ranked second in terms of cash dividends, which reached AED 8.54 billion for the year 2018 compared to AED 8.5 billion in 2017.
In the real estate sector, distributions amounted to 4.25 billion dirhams and about 1.67 billion dirhams to the services sector, while the entertainment and hospitality sector distributed 1.43 billion dirhams and 693 million dirhams to the investment finance sector and the rest distributed to other sectors.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) was ranked first in terms of the value of dividends distributed to shareholders, amounting to more than AED 8 billion or 74% of the capital in 2018. The bank’s net profit exceeded AED 12 billion.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank came second with AED 2.4 billion in dividends, while Dubai Islamic Bank distributed AED 2.3 billion and Emirates NBD distributed AED 2.19 billion.
