Al-Babtain reports strong performance in 2019, says CFO

Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Co.’s (Al-Babtain) delivered strong performance in 2019, CNBC Arabia reported, citing the company’s chief financial officer (CFO), Mohammed Al Toukhy.

“We hope for a similar or better performance in 2020,” Al Toukhy said.

He added that the increase in last year’s profits was due to the development in the performance of the company and some of its subsidiaries after winning projects inside and outside the Kingdom, which led to a more than 47% increase in sales.

Al Toukhy also cited a decrease in general and administrative expenses as the company has recently implemented a cost reduction program. 

Elsewhere, the CFO mentioned that distributing a cash dividend of SAR 1 per share for 2019 was “highly satisfactory” amid the current economic conditions.

Earlier this week, the board of directors of Al-Babtain recommended a 5% cash dividend for the fourth quarter of 2019, at SAR 0.5 per share, amounting to SAR 21.3 million, according to data compiled by Argaam.

Al-Babtain’s net profit after Zakat and tax jumped 23.4% year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 86 million for FY2019, due to a 47.7% increase in sales, and a decline in administrative expenses.