The board of Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) has decided to pay SAR 25 million as cash dividends for the first half (H1) of 2022, according to a bourse disclosure.

The Saudi firm announced a dividend distribution of SAR 0.50 per share, representing 5% of the share nominal value, for 50 million eligible shares.

Meanwhile, the eligibility date for the H1-22 dividends was set as 13 October 2022.

During the first six months (6M) of 2022, MEPCO recorded a 216.10% hike in net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR 192.21 million, versus SAR 60.80 million in the year-ago period.

Last week, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) passed MEPCO’s request to raise its capital by SAR 166.66 million through bonus shares.

Accordingly, the new capital will stand at SAR 666.66 million distributed over 66.66 million shares, compared to SAR 500 million and 50 million shares prior to the increase.