Dividend policy

The Company‘s policy for distribution of annual net income is based on the provisions of its Articles of Association and the availability of liquidity How easily securities can be bought or sold on the market. A security is liquid if there are units available for large transactions to take place without substantial changes in price to meet liabilities and strategic projects. Annual net profits (after deduction of all overheads and expenses) shall be distributed as follows:

1. 10% of net profits are allocated to the statutory reserve. The Ordinary General Assembly may suspend this allocation once this reserve equals half the Company‘s paid-up capital.
2. The Ordinary General Assembly – at the Board of Directors‘ recommendation – may allocate a percentage of net profits for other special reserves.
3. Of the remainder, a first payment equaling 5% of paid-up capital is allocated to the shareholders.
4. After these allocations, a percentage of the remainder (to be determined by the Ordinary General Assembly, provided that such percentage does not exceed 0.5% of the net profit) is allocated as a bonus for the Board of Directors. The remainder will be distributed to the shareholders as an additional dividend or transferred to retained earnings.

The following are the proposed dividends for the year 2018, compared to dividends for 2017: