South Pacific Oil announces $73M dividend to SINPF

South Pacific Oil Limited approved a $73 million dividend for the 2017 financial year at its Annual General Meeting today.

Board Chair Peter James Boyers said the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund Board is the sole recipient of the approved distribution.

Mr Boyers said the dividend will be paid out of the 2017 audited profits for the company.

He said today’s payout shows an increase of $12 million compared to the 2016 financial performance.

This is the highest dividend declared and paid in cash by the company in the past 11 years of operation, Mr Boyers said.

South Pacific Oil is 100 percent owned by the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund and is the fund’s best-performing equity investment, averaging an annual rate of return of 35 percent.

From an initial at-cost investment of $42.1 million in 2006, the value of SINPF shares in the company has now reached more than $840 million.