Manama, Bahrain: Batelco Group (Ticker: BATELCO), the leading telecom in the Middle East, today (February 22, 2012) concluded the Annual General Meeting for the twelve-months ended 31 December 2011 ("the year"), where shareholders approved a full year cash dividend of BD57.6M (US$152.8M), which represents a 72% payout at a value of 40 fils per share. Batelco Group already paid 20 fils per share during the third quarter of 2011 with the payment of the remaining 20 fils per share expected on 6 March 2012.

Batelco Group's 31st AGM, which was held at its Hamala headquarters, was attended by shareholders, company directors, senior management, staff and members of the press, and was presided over by the Chairman of the Board, Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and Batelco Group CEO, Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Commenting from the AGM, Shaikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Batelco Group Chairman, said: "2011 marked another year of solid financial and operating performance for Batelco. Throughout the year we successfully executed our Batelco strategy and delivered results in line with the guidance and expectations set for our shareholders early in 2011. We are especially pleased, however, that our solid financial performance enabled us once again to deliver a substantial dividend to our shareholders, totalling BD57.6M (US$152.8M), as recommended by the Board of Directors and approved by our shareholders here today. This represents a 72% payout and continues to see Batelco Group rank among the top regional telecommunications companies in terms of dividend yields and comparative shareholder returns."

As announced earlier in the month, for the full year 2011, Batelco reported Net Profits of BD80.M (US$212.2M) versus BD86.8.M (US$230.2M) for 2010, representing a decline of 8%. EBITDA for the year 2011 was BD126.0M (US$334.2M), representing a 39% margin, versus EBITDA of BD146.2M (US$387.8M) for 2010. Batelco's Gross Revenues stood at BD327.0M (US$ 867.4M) for the year, down 4% from BD340.3M (US$902.7M) in the previous year.

Further commenting on the Group's financial results, Shaikh Hamad, said: "We were also pleased with the strength of our balance sheet at year end. As of 31 December 2011, Batelco Group was free of debt and had significant cash and bank balances of BD107.9M (US$286.2M) an increase of 24% year on year. Our ability to continue to pay substantial dividends and even further grow our cash and bank balances is the result of the effective management of our operations and strong cash flow generation, which in 2011 exceeded the guidance we had provided earlier in the year. The overall financial and operational health of Batelco was also underscored in 2011 by our having received Investment Grade Credit Ratings during the fourth quarter from Fitch and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, two of the world's leading credit ratings agencies. These were the first public credit ratings issued to Batelco Group, which further enhance our position and ability to pursue even greater profitable growth in the years ahead."

This press release has been issued by Batelco Corporate Affairs department.
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