Yahsat hikes interim dividends to Dhs201m for H1 2023

Shareholders in Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat Group) have approved an interim cash dividend of 2.24 cents (8.23 fils) per share, equivalent to $54.7m (Dhs201m) for the first half of 2023.

Yahsat said investors must purchase shares no later than September 27 to be eligible for the dividend or be shareholders of record as of October 2.

Interim dividends will subsequently be paid by October 16 to all eligible shareholders, the company said in a bourse filing.

On an annualised basis, the company is on track to pay a dividend of at least 16.46 fils per share, equivalent to Dhs402m for 2023, a 2 per cent increase from a year ago.

The Abu Dhabi satellite operator said this also implies an annualised dividend yield of around 6.5 per cent for 2023, based on the latest share price, and is amongst the highest currently offered by a listed stock in the UAE.

The firm expects to pay the second and final dividend for 2023 in May 2024, subject to the board of directors’ recommendation and shareholders’ approval.

“Following an impressive set of first-half financial results, one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry and substantial contracted future cash flows of approximately $1.9bn, Yahsat continues to differentiate itself amongst UAE listed stocks, delivering one of the highest dividend yields available today,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, chairman of Yahsat.

“The board remains committed to a progressive dividend that grows by at least 2 per cent each year, paid out semi-annually, underpinned by a pipeline of promising growth opportunities.”

Yahsat’s H1 2023 perfomance

Meanwhile, Yahsat has reported a 2 per cent decrease in half-year revenues to $205m from $206m a year ago.

The group delivered revenue growth in infrastructure, which provides communications capacity to the UAE government and data solutions, offering satellite-based broadband data solutions.

The satellite operator’s net income rose by 5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $48m, generating an improved margin of 23 per cent from the previous year’s 22 per cent.

Yahsat said its earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached $125m in the first half of the year, up 3 per cent YoY.

“Yahsat is entering a new phase of growth. Our Thuraya-4 NGS satellite remains on track for launch in the first half of 2024 and we have commenced procurement of the Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites with the signing of an authorisation-to-proceed (ATP) with Airbus earlier this year,” said Ali Al Hashemi, group CEO of Yahsat.

The company plans to allocate more than $100m towards capital expenditures in 2023 as part of the ‘T4-NGS’ satellite programme.

The programme, the next-generation telecommunications system for Thuraya, is scheduled to become operational in the first half of 2025 with a total cost of up to $550m, including manufacturing, launch, insurance and new ground infrastructure.

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