STO to distribute MVR 75 per share as dividend

The State Trading Organisation (STO) has earned record profits in 2012, and decided to distribute MVR 75 per share as dividend.

This decision was passed at the STO Annual General Meeting held in Traders Hotel last night, with 543 out of 653 shareholder votes in favour.

At the AGM, shareholders passed the minutes of the AGM of 2011, the directors’ report of 2012, the balance sheet of 2012, and to use PricewaterhouseCoopers as an external audit firm in the upcoming year, for a fee of $32,000.

The member elected to the board was Mohamed Farsath, who won by one extra vote against Mariyam Shenin who received 323 votes.

It was proposed at the meeting to increase the remuneration of the board of directors per sitting from MVR 500, as it is now, to MVR 2,000. This proposition was rejected, with 365 out of 653 shareholders voting against it.

At the meeting that went on from 22:00 until 02:30, shareholders also presented their views, including several shareholders praising the management of STO for the company’s successes.

Last night’s AGM was attended by more shareholders than ever before in the history of STO.

The annual report of STO for 2012 shows that it earned a revenue of MVR 9.1 billion, which is an increase of 33 percent when compared with the revenue of 2011.

It also achieved a record increase in net profit, from MVR 147 million in 2011 to MVR 158 million in 2012.