Gulf Navigation to buy back shares

Gulf Navigation, the UAE's sole Dubai Financial Market-listed maritime and shipping company, plans to buy back its shares this year, a decision that has been approved by the company's board of directors, a statement said yesterday.

However, the company has not indicated the buyback price, volume or the time of the exercise. Gulf Navigation's stocks rose 7.14 per cent to Dh0.60 on the DFM yesterday.

The board also approved the annual budget for 2010 and proposed cash dividend of three per cent of the share capital, which is equivalent to three fils per share for fiscal 2009, the statement said.

GulfNav said it posted a net profit of Dh26.55m for the full year 2009, compared with Dh148.22m in 2008, recording a decline of 82 per cent. "The company's cash flow remains strong in 2010 with operating profits before depreciation and interest of Dh145.13m last year, compared with Dh219.45m in 2008," the statement said.

Due to lower freight rates in 2009, GulfNav generated Dh338.16m in revenues during 2009, compared to Dh395.93m a year earlier. Total assets stood at Dh2.93 billion, compared with Dh3.04bn in 2008, the statement said.

"We look forward to 2010 as a year of expansion. We believe tanker prices are now more realistic, and combined with our strong cash position, we will be able to expand our fleet to meet the demand growth," said Abdullah Al Shuraim, Chairman of GulfNav.

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