The Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus (BOC) decided to recommend for approval at the Shareholders’ Annual General Meeting to be held on 18 May 2005, the payment of a dividend for 2004 of 4 cent per share for a total cash payout of CYP 18.59 mln.
The recommended ex-dividend date is Thursday, 26 May 2005. Transactions that take place up until Wednesday, 25 May 2005, will be eligible to receive the dividend for 2004. The dividend, subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting, will be paid to the eligible shareholders on Thursday, 16 June 2005.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan
Investors are reminded that the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (“the Plan”) approved by the Board of Directors in February 2002 is in force for the 2004 dividend.
The Board of Directors of the Bank decided to increase the percentage of the discount offered under the Plan to 10%, up from 7.5% which was the discount offered at the most recent dividend payment in respect of the 2001 dividend.
Based on the 10% discount offered, dividends will be reinvested at 90% of the weighted average closing price of the share at the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) for the first five working days that the share is quoted ex-dividend.
Rights issue
The Board of Directors of the Bank examined, among other issues, the capital needs of the Bank of Cyprus Group arising from the regulatory requirements of the Central Bank of Cyprus, given the expansion plans of the Group, and decided to proceed with a rights issue, aiming to raise between CYP 80-100 mln.
The specific details of the issue, such as the ratio of rights to existing shares, the exercise price and the exact size of the issue will be decided by the Board of Directors closer to the time of the issue and will depend on the conditions prevailing at that time in the Cyprus and Greek markets.
It is anticipated that the issue will take place in the last quarter of 2005.
The proceeds of the issue will be used to strengthen the Group’s capital adequacy and specifically the Group’s Tier 1 capital. The proceeds from the previous share capital increase of the Bank (exercise of Share Warrants 1999/2003 during October and November 2003) have been fully utilised in the strengthening of the Group’s capital.
