Dana Gas shareholders approved on Wednesday to distribute an 5.5 fils per cash dividend for the financial year ended 31st December 2019.

The move was made during the company’s annual general meeting, during which a feasibility study to separate the Dana Gas’ upstream and midstream businesses in a demerger was also given the green light by shareholders.

The demerger would create two publicly traded companies on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange. Under the plan, existing shareholders would own shares in both the Upstream business, which comprises operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Egypt, and the Midstream business, which will hold the UAE Gas project that is currently awaiting arbitration decision or award.

Commenting on the meeting outcomes, Hamid Jafar, Chairman of Dana Gas, said, “This is the company’s third consecutive dividend and highlights the excellent results from the hard work the Board and management team have delivered over the past several years to strengthen the company’s financial position that has been reflected in the steady dividend payments.”

“During 2019,” he explained, “we were able to add to production and strengthen our operations, making us more resilient to the difficult global economic environment. The fact that the majority of our natural gas contracts are at fixed prices helps us remain competitive and will allow us to capitalise on any opportunities.”

“We are also looking at enhancing shareholder value separating our upstream and midstream assets in a demerger. I would like to extend my gratitude to our shareholders for their continued support for the Company and their confidence in the growth potential of Dana Gas,” Jafar continued.

Dana Gas posted its highest annual net profit in seven years of US$157 million (AED575 million) for the 2019 financial year, compared to a net loss of $186 million (AED682 million) in FY2018.

Net profit from core operations, on a like-for-like basis, excluding one-off items increased by 80 percent to $115 million (AED422 million) compared to $64 million (AED235 million) in 2018. The company’s year-end cash balance was $425 million (AED1,558 million) vs $407 million (AE1,492 million) at the end of 2018.