JPMC approves distribution of cash dividends to shareholders

AMMAN — The General Assembly of the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) has endorsed the board of directors' recommendation to distribute cash dividends to shareholders at 300 per cent of the company's paid-up capital of JD82.5 million. 

It also approved the annual budget and the accounts of profits and losses, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

At its extraordinary meeting, chaired by JPMC Chairman Mohammad Thneibat, the general assembly endorsed increasing the capital from JD82.5 million to JD247.5 million, by capitalising JD165 million in rated profits equity, which constitutes 200 per cent of the capital and distributing them as free shares for shareholders.

He said that the company's balance at the end of last year reached JD1.171 billion, and JD803 million in cash was allocated to the fund, in addition to deposits in banks with profit rates of up to 6.5 per cent.

Thneibat stressed that the company in 2022 generated "unprecedented" profits, in which after income tax and before the employee bonus allocation, reached JD734.825 million, marking an increase of approximately 113 per cent compared with 2021 profits, indicating that the profit of shares for 2022 was JD8.672/share, compared with JD4.06 per share for 2021.

The chairman stressed that these achievements led to a "remarkable" increase in operating profit, which exceeded JD1 billion, and an increase of 51 per cent compared with 2021. He noted that the ratio of cost of sales to sales during 2022 fell by 21 per cent, compared with 2021, despite a remarkable increase in raw material prices, which exceeded 30 per cent. 

In terms of boosting the financial position of the company, Thneibat said that the company's assets in 2022 increased by 39 per cent compared with 2021. At the end of 2022, the company's equity grew by an unprecedented 60 per cent compared with 2021, bringing total equity by the end of last year to JD1.484 billion.

With regard to the company's contribution to promoting the macro-variables of the national economy and supporting the economic growth of the Kingdom, he stressed that the JPMC and allied companies last year generated export sales of some $3 billion, which constitutes a significant contribution to narrowing the deficit gap in both the balance of trade and the balance of payments, thereby enhancing the local currency.

Regarding the company's role in supporting Treasury revenues and the General Budget, the chairman pointed out that the JPMC's direct contribution to supporting public revenues last year amounted to about JD347 million, mainly income tax on profits, mining and customs revenues, and sales tax on foreign payments.