Stc General Assembly approves cash dividend of 35 Kuwaiti fils per share
Net profit reached KD 32.7 million
WASHINGTON, March 27, (AP): The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on a collection of fintech firms and people, mostly in Russia, accused of enabling sanctions evasion.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 firms - five of which are owned by an already sanctioned person - and 2 people who have all either helped build or operate blockchain-based services for, or enabled virtual currency payments in, the Russian financial sector, “thus enabling potential sanctions evasion,” according to U.S. Treasury.
Included in Monday’s sanctions are a group of Moscow-based fintech companies and a Russia and UAE-based virtual currency exchange, among others.
Lawmakers and administration officials have voiced concerns that Russia may be using cryptocurrency to avoid pain from the avalanche of sanctions imposed on banks, oligarchs and the energy industry in response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Experts say an increased reliance on cryptocurrency would be an inevitable avenue for Russia to try to prop up its financial transactions, but Treasury officials have rejected the claim that cryptocurrency could be a major driver of sanctions evasion.
“Russia is increasingly turning to alternative payment mechanisms to circumvent U.S. sanctions and continue to fund its war against Ukraine,” Treasury Under Secretary Brian E. Nelson.
“As the Kremlin seeks to leverage entities in the financial technology space, Treasury will continue to expose and disrupt the companies that seek to help sanctioned Russian financial institutions reconnect to the global financial system.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday’s action “reaffirms the G7 commitment to curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine. It also reflects our continued efforts to target companies servicing Russia’s core financial infrastructure.”
KUWAIT CITY, March 27: Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc), a world-class digital leader providing innovative services and platforms to customers enabling the digital transformation in Kuwait, held its Ordinary General Assembly (AGM) at the Company’s Headquarters – Olympia Mall/West Office Towers on Wednesday, 27 March 2024, where the attendance represented 77.545% from the total shareholders. The AGM was held physically and virtually using the online platform provided by Kuwait Clearing Company.
The AGM approved the Board of Directors’ and Financial Position’s report, the Auditors’ report and the Sharia Committee’s report for the fiscal year ended on 31 December 2023. The AGM also approved the Audit Committee report and the Corporate Governance report including the Board of Directors’ and the Executive Management’s remuneration and benefits report for the year ended on 31 December 2023along with approving all the other items in the AGM agenda. Furthermore, the AGM included the election of the Board of Directors members for a three-year tenure.
The AGM also approved the Company’s financial statements and the Board of Directors’ recommendation to distribute cash dividends of 35Kuwaiti fils, representing 35% of the share’s nominal value for the year ended 2023, for shareholders registered in the Company’s shareholders register as at the end of the record date set for it on Monday corresponding to15 April 2024. The cash dividends will be distributed to the shareholders who are entitled to it at payment date, as of Sunday, corresponding to 21 April 2024.
Commenting on the announcements of these results, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmad Abdulrahman, stc’s Chairman, stated: “Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc) has achieved numerous financial and operational accomplishments in 2023, paving the way for it to lead Kuwait’s ICT market. stc is keen on being innovative and up-to-date in all its operations and services to maintain its competitive position in the market. Accordingly, stc ensures adding value to its shareholders and providing the best offers and services to its customers in light of global trends towards digitization and embracing the latest technologies. Therefore, stc seeks to empower individuals, companies and society as a whole to prosper in an interconnected world, along with providing them with traditional communications services by implementing its strategy, plans and future vision focused on strengthening its internal capabilities and developing its infrastructure to provide the best integrated technical and database solutions for companies in addition to those tailored to meet our customers’ needs. The strong results achieved by the company during the financial year ended in December 2023 have demonstrated the success of stc’s corporate strategy and its constant efforts to harness the available capabilities and seize potential opportunities in the telecommunications market. This has helped in maintaining the company’s
distinguished position in the ICT market. It has also contributed to fulfillingstc’s willingness to support its internal capabilities, enhance its market share, and to develop and enrich the customer experience.”
Commenting on the company’s financial position as at 31 December 2023 Dr. Abdulrahman, stated: “stc’s total assets reached KD 447.7mn by the end of December 2023, while total shareholders’ equity increased by 1% reaching KD 243.9mn. Moreover, stc has a strong solvency position among its peers in the Middle East.”
Dr. Abdulrahman commented on the cash dividend recommendation of 35% of the Company’s total capital for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, saying: “stc has demonstrated its capacity by maintaining good cash flows resulted from adopting its successful business model as well as financial planning that ensure good financial returns and results that would enable the company to distribute sustainable cash dividends on an annual basis, and in the best interest of the company’s valued shareholders.”
Commenting on stc’s achievements in 2023, Eng. Muataz Abdullah
Aldharrab, stc’s CEO stated: “By the grace of Allah, stc demonstrated its significant success during the year, in terms of operational and financial operations, due to the implementation of its corporate strategy based on leading the ICT market in Kuwait, which relies primarily on the company’s robust infrastructure and the most advanced 5G network, enabling stc to provide the best integrated technological solutions and corporate database solutions that target and meet the needs of all the company’s customers, surpassing their expectations. This has positioned stc at the forefront of leading companies in supporting the digital transformation process and providing integrated solutions, which are considered added value to the traditional telecommunications sector.”
Aldharrab noted: “In addition, stc was able to achieve these strong results with significant support from its subsidiaries, Solutions by stc and E-Portal - the company’s arms specialized in providing integrated solutions related to the field of telecommunications and networking. As well as advanced technical solutions, fixed services, broadband, integration systems, and cloud
services for both individuals and enterprises.Through expanding its business model and strengthening its position as a top-tier company in the ICT sector, stc has empowered itself to achieve sustainable growth in the future through the integrated business system, which greatly supports the strategic pillars of digital transformation”
Commenting on the announcement of company’s financial results for the year ended December 31, 2023, Eng. Aldharrab said: “stc proudly managed to achieve strong financial results in 2023, recording the highest total revenue since inception to reach KD 351.4mn with a growth rate of 4.5% in 2023, compared with KD 336.4mn last year. This growth in revenue was achieved with the significant support from the increase in stc’s customer base which has reached 2.3 million customers by the end of December 2023, representing a rise of 0.5% compared to December 2022. Accordingly, EBITDA witnessed a growth of 3.7% to reach KD 85.1mn in 2023 which resulted in a net profit of KD 32.7mn (earnings per share 33 fils) during 2023, driven by the increased revenue and the efficiency of stc’s operational expenditure.”