Bank of Cyprus AGM approves dividend, maintains profit target

The Annual General Meeting of shareholders of Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd (BOCY) approved the payment of a final dividend of EUR0.12 in addition to the EUR 0.15 interim declared and paid last year. Ex-dividend date for the final dividend will be 21 May 2009 while payment date is 10 June 2009.
The dividend yield of the final dividend based on prevailing prices stands at 3.9%.
CEO Andreas Eliades reiterated the Bank’s target for 2009 profitability despite the adverse global macro and financial conditions currently prevailing. Bank of Cyprus management has forecast that 2009 net profits will range between EUR 300-400 mln. Additionally, the Group’s CEO Eliades argued that the upcoming EUR 645 mln convertible bond issue will safeguard BOCY’s capital adequacy position, with Tier I Capital estimated at c. 10% and Total Capital (Tier I and Tier II) at c. 11.5%.
Bank of Cyprus Chairman Theodoros Aristodemou told shareholders it was difficult to give precise estimates for 2009 in the present financial environment. The bank reported full-year net profit of €502 mln in 2008, a 4% increase from 2007. Bank of Cyprus reports its results for the first quarter of 2009 on May 28.
The bank has branches in eight countries, but its key areas of activity are Cyprus and Greece. The Cypriot group acquired 80% in the Russian Uniastrum Bank last year. Russia is an area eyed for future growth potential. "We believe Russia will in future be the third pillar of growth for the bank," Aristodemou told the bank's annual general meeting.