STO Approves MVr 85 per share in dividends for the 2025 financial year, lifting its payout above last year’s level and rewarding shareholders for a year in which the company crossed MVR 15 billion in revenue. The resolution passed by majority vote at the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday evening, at Dusit D2 Feydhoo Maldives, with 263 shareholders and proxies in the room and a clear message that the company’s run of sustained profit has reached its shareholders’ pockets.
A well-attended meeting with a clear mandate
The AGM drew strong participation from across the shareholder base. A total of 176 shareholders attended in person, while another 87 voted through proxies. Together, that turnout reflects the level of engagement the State Trading Organization (STO) continues to command among public investors, a useful signal in a year when the company put forward both an upward dividend revision and a fresh round of governance decisions.
Chairman Amir Mansoor opened the proceedings, after which Managing Director Shimad Ibrahim walked shareholders through the 2025 performance picture. He framed the year as one defined by three threads: sustained profitability, accelerating digital adoption across the group, and a steady build in shareholder value. The Directors’ Report and the audited Financial Statement for 2025 then went to the floor and received shareholder approval without difficulty.
The financials behind the higher payout
The dividend uplift sits on solid numerical ground. Revenue for 2025 reached MVR 15.5 billion, and net profit landed at MVR 763 million. Last year’s shareholders received MVR 80 per share. This year’s MVR 85 represents a 6.25% increase in the per-share payout, modest in headline terms, but meaningful when read alongside the company’s diversification footprint across fuel, retail, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, and home appliances.
For context, the dividend hike also signals confidence from the Board that 2025’s earnings quality is durable rather than cyclical. Companies typically raise payouts only when management sees room to sustain them through the next financial cycle, and the public commentary from leadership during the meeting pointed firmly in that direction.
Governance moves that shape the year ahead
The AGM did more than approve numbers. Shareholders also elected Mr Mohamed Ahsan Saleem as the public shareholder representative, a role that gives minority investors a structured voice on the Board and shapes how the company communicates with its non-government shareholder base. His continuation in this position keeps a familiar hand on that channel.
In a separate but equally significant decision, shareholders appointed Ernst & Young as the external auditor for the 2026 financial year. The choice of one of the Big Four lends additional weight to the company’s audit trail and aligns with the broader institutional posture that publicly listed SOEs in the Maldives have been steadily adopting.
A note on the room itself
Beyond the formal agenda, public shareholders used the floor for questions and observations directed at the Board of Directors. That dialogue, while not a voting matter, often offers the clearest read on investor sentiment. The tone at this year’s meeting suggested a constituency that is comfortable with the direction of the business and interested in how the company plans to channel its digital and operational gains into the next earnings cycle.
The bottom line
STO Approves MVR 85 in dividends for 2025, a step up from last year, anchored to revenue of MVR 15.55 billion and a net profit of MVR 763 million, and accompanied by a governance refresh that brings Ernst & Young in as external auditor for 2026. For shareholders, the meeting delivered a higher cash return and a steady hand on the company’s audit and representation arrangements. For the wider market, STO Approves MVR 85 as a quiet but firm vote of confidence, the kind of move that says the year just closed was strong enough to share, and the year ahead is being built on the same footing.