Saudi’s Maaden to focus on preserving cash instead of shareholder payout

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. will focus on keeping a cash cushion rather than returning money to shareholders, chief executive officer Mosaed Bin Sulaiman Al Ohali said.

“As we look forward at the current situation of the market, I think we need to conserve as much cash as possible to take care of any emerging issues,” Al Ohali said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Previously, the company’s shareholders had decided not to pay a dividend and “fundamentally nothing has changed,” he said.

Saudi Arabian Mining, also known as Maaden, appointed Al Ohali as CEO last month.

Al Ohali also said:

• Progress on Maaden’s new projects has been impacted by curfew and movement restrictions in Saudi Arabia
• Maaden has no plans to cut capital expenditure in response to coronavirus