Via Loop Jamaica

Sagicor Group Jamaica has declared a final dividend of 61.24 cents (J$ 0.6124) per stock unit payable on May 14, 2021, to shareholders on record at the close of business on April 26, 2021. 

The company has also signalled its intent to pay out all previously announced dividends that remain unpaid as a result of Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) actions in 2020.

Peter Melhado, Chairman of Sagicor Group Jamaica said, “We are pleased that the Bank of Jamaica has given the green light for all listed companies to resume dividend distribution. Our funding and liquidity position will comfortably allow us to support the payout of previously declared dividends that remain unpaid, as well as this most recent dividend.”   

The decision comes on the heels of the announcement by the BOJ on Monday, April 6, 2021, that local financial holding companies (FHC) and deposit-taking Institutions (DTIs) could resume the distributions of dividends to shareholders owning more than one per cent of issued shares that had been declared for their 2019 and 2020 financial years.

The BOJ also gave clearance for companies to resume the declaration and distribution of dividends for the 2021 financial year.

In April 2020, Sagicor indicated the postponement of payment of declared dividends. This postponement was necessitated by action regarding all financial holding companies taken by the central bank to conserve capital amid the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Later, in May 2020, Sagicor announced that it would pay declared dividends to shareholders with shareholdings of one per cent or less.