Tecom’s shareholders approve $54m interim dividend for 2022

The company holds its first annual general assembly since listing its shares on the DFM in July

Tecom Group comprises 10 business districts that include Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and the Dubai Design District. AP

Tecom Group, the operator of business districts that are home to more than 7,800 companies, has announced an interim cash dividend after the company reported a strong profit in the first nine months of the year.

The company’s shareholders approved an interim dividend payment of Dh200 million ($54.45m), amounting to 4 fils per share, at its first annual general assembly, the company said on Tuesday.

Tecom Group, which listed its shares on the Dubai Financial Market in July, plans to distribute Dh800m in dividend payments to shareholders annually through to October 2025.

The dividends will be distributed semi-annually, including Dh200m in October 2022, Dh200m in April 2023, Dh400m in October 2023, Dh400m in April 2024 and Dh400m in October 2024.

It will also pay Dh400m in dividends to shareholders in April 2025 as well as in October.

“Tecom Group has sustained its strong performance since the start of the year in line with the sharp rise in demand in the commercial and industrial real estate market in Dubai,” its chairman Malek Al Malek said.

“This buoyancy is underpinned by the economic expansion and the government’s initiatives to promote further growth and excellence, enhance the ease of doing business and attract top global talent and foreign direct investment.”

Tecom Group raised Dh1.7 billion from its initial public offering earlier this year. The IPO was 21 times oversubscribed, with total gross demand at more than Dh35bn.

The group reported a record 70 per cent surge in its third-quarter profit, driven by solid demand in the commercial property market and the strong growth of the emirate's economy.

Profit for the three-month period to the end of September rose to Dh211.5m. Revenue increased by an annual 12.5 per cent to Dh490m on the back of rising occupancy levels across the group's portfolio, especially office, warehouse and worker accommodation, it said last month.

Tecom comprises 10 business districts that include Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and the Dubai Design District. Nine of Tecom's 10 business districts are located in free zones that permit 100 per cent foreign ownership, with tenants including Meta, Google, Visa, BBC, CNN, Unilever and Dior.

Net profit in the first nine months of the year grew 51 per cent to Dh639m from the same period a year earlier as revenue jumped 15 per cent year-on-year to Dh1.48bn, driven by strong growth across all business segments.