OREANDA-NEWS. The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) held its annual General Assembly meeting at the company’s headquarters in Riyadh on April 13, under the chairmanship of Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, Chairman of SABIC and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

The General Assembly approved SR 15 billion as dividends for shareholders at SR 5 per share for its operations in 2012. The company had distributed dividends to shareholders for the first half of 2012 at SR 2 per share. Eligibility for receiving second half dividend payments at SR 3 will be for shareholders listed in Tadawul (Saudi Stock Exchange) records as of the end of trading on the day of the General Assembly meeting.

The General Assembly also approved other items on its agenda including the Board of Directors’ report for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2012, the company’s audit report, the final accounts for the year, the Board of Directors’ remunerations for the year, the conditions for holding the Board of Directors free from any liabilities for the year, and the addition of the remaining profits to the next general reserves.

The General Assembly also approved the recommendation of the auditing committee, which involves the selection of an external auditor to audit SABIC’s quarterly and annual accounts. In addition, the fees for the independent auditor for the fiscal year 2013 were also determined. Price Waterhouse Coopers was selected as the auditor.

The General Assembly also approved four members, at least three of who are independent, from a nominees list to represent shareholders on the Board of Directors in its next session, starting with the approval of the General Assembly and for a term of three years. The Board members were also elected: Abdullah Mohammad Al-Issa, Dr. Khaled Hamza Nahas, Mohammad Abdullah Al-Khurashi and Abdulaziz Habdan Al-Habdan.

In his remarks, Prince Saud praised the participation of SABIC shareholders in helping to achieve corporate development objectives and leadership ambitions. He said that the company’s growing success and performance was the result of integrated and combined efforts of the SABIC Board, Executive Management, employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers. He highlighted the important role of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the Crown Prince and the government in contributing towards this success.

Prince Saud further said that SABIC has maintained a strong financial performance during 2012, and increased its production capacity to reach 72 million tons, a three-million-ton increase compared to the previous year. The company has achieved total sales of SR 189 billion.

The company’s total assets grew to SR 338 billion, compared to SR 333 billion, with net income around SR 24.7 billion. The total volume of sales reached 55 million tons, one million more than the previous year. The shareholders' equity increased to SR 148 billion, compared to SR 138 billion. Thanks to its strong performance, the company maintained its stable top credit rating as well as its outlook by international credit rating agencies.

For his part, Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, outlined the company’s achievements during 2012, and its tireless efforts to double its national contributions and enhance its competitiveness in global markets. "SABIC continues to invest in downstream industries to support the Kingdom’s economic development through a number of important projects," he said.

Al-Mady spoke of several projects with an investment of approximately SR 44 billion. They include a steel and long products project at HADEED with an annual production capacity of one million tons and estimated investment of SR 3.3 billion, projects at IBN RUSHD with an investment SR 4 billion, and an elastomers project in Jubail Industrial City, a joint venture with ExxonMobil, with an investment of SR 12 billion. Al-Mady also spoke of the SHROUQ and SAMAC projects, the expansion of PETROKEMYA, and the world-class phosphate production facility to be established with the Mosaic Company and Ma’aden.

Al-Mady further highlighted SABIC’s focus on investing in technology and innovation to provide new products and solutions to meet the challenges facing the petrochemical industry. He pointed out that SABIC will open four new technology centers this year – two in Saudi Arabia, one in Shanghai, China and another in Bangalore, India.

Concluding his speech, Al-Mady said that SABIC has the elements of continuous success, such as qualified, trained human resources, and the application programs it needs to reduce costs and improve productivity, enhancing its competitive position in global markets. "Only strong companies can afford to meet present-day challenges and solve problems," he said.