CAIRO - Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil said on Wednesday its dividend for the first nine months of 2010 would nearly match its payment for all of 2009, giving its shares a boost.
The company, also known as the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services, will pay a dividend of 9.19 Egyptian pounds ($1.59) per share on Jan. 27 to shareholders as of Jan. 23, it said in a statement to the country's stock exchange.
CI Capital analyst Mohamed Hamdy said the dividend was higher than expected. The research house had predicted Mobinil would pay just 7.80 pounds per share for all of 2010, after paying 9.50 pounds per share for 2009.
He added that a decrease had been expected, "due to the huge short-term financial obligations on (Mobinil) to finance 3G installments and capex (capital expenditure)."
Mobinil shares rose 2.8 percent, outpacing the main index which was up 0.4 percent at 0942 GMT.
The company's last dividend payment, for the second half of 2009, was 7.50 Egyptian pounds per share.