Savola shareholders approve 7.5% cash dividend for 2020, 1.2 mln share buyback

Savola Group’s shareholders approved distributing a cash dividend at 7.5% of capital, or SAR 0.75 per share, for 2020, during the extraordinary general assembly meeting held on April 28, 2021.

Shareholders also approved the share buyback of 1.2 million ordinary shares,  which will be retained by the company as treasury shares to cover the new shares required for the second and third tranches of the current approved employee long-term incentive program, in line with the timeframe for each tranche and the program's approved criteria, terms, and the policies, Savola said in a bourse statement.

Shareholders also authorized the board of directors to finalize the buyback transaction within a maximum period of 12 months, starting from the EGM date.

The share repurchase will be funded through the company's internal resources, and the maximum time period, during which the treasury shares may be retained without being sold or allocated to the employee incentive program, shall not exceed five years from the date the EGM approval.

The remaining agenda items were also approved, the statement added.