Bank of Cyprus Holdings

– Bank of Cyprus Holdings announced a 25c dividend and a €25 million share buyback.
– Shares traded at recent highs on the London and Cyprus stock exchanges.
– The share price on the London Stock Exchange opened at 307p and reached an intra-day high of 316p, the best since its listing at 285p on January 31, 2017.
– The share price hit its lowest at 39.6p on September 30, 2020, and recovered above 300p at the end of 2023.
– The closing trading price on Thursday was 309p/369c.
– The 25c dividend is based on €487 million in after-tax profits for 2023, marking the second reward to shareholders in over a decade.
– The CEO aims to increase the profit distribution to 30-50% over the next few years.
– The European Central Bank approved the cash dividend and share buyback.
– The total distribution for FY2023 amounts to €137 million, with a cash dividend of €112 million and a share buyback of up to €25 million.
– Last year’s profit distribution was €22 million.
– The cash dividend will be paid on June 14 to stockholders registered as of April 26, with BOCH trading ex-dividend as of April 25.
– The bank is considering alternatives to issuing dividend cheques to speed up the process.
– The share buyback will occur on both the London Stock Exchange and the Cyprus Stock Exchange, with two brokerage firms handling the transaction.
– The bank plans to give bonuses to about 30% of its staff, who also received 11% pay increases last year.
– Bank of Cyprus Holdings Chairman stated the distribution reflects the Group’s strong financial performance in 2023 and its commitment to delivering value to shareholders.