Turkey’s largest retailer BIM (BIMAS) on October 9 said it would call an extraordinary general meeting for November 11 to propose the distribution of a TRY243mn (€37mn) gross cash dividend from its extraordinary reserves, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

A sum of TRY24mn would be allocated as second legal reserves while a TRY0.40 gross, or TRY0.34 net, cash dividend would be distributed on December 11 in one instalment, if approval was given by the EGM.

“This profit distribution decision from extraordinary reserves is different from the year 2018 profit distribution process, the second instalment of which has not been paid yet. Therefore, the profit distribution to be determined by the Extraordinary General Assembly dated 19.11.2019 will be an additional payment to the second instalment payment of the 2018 profit,” the statement noted.

On September 12, the company sold all of the TRY7.64mn nominally-valued shares, amounting to a 1.25% stake, that were repurchased via two separate share buyback programs, launched in July 2016 and May 2018. They were sold at a price of TRY48 per share.

“The Company does not have any treasury shares at hand and the sales gain amounting to TL 130,782,570 (excluding commission) will be presented in the equity of the Company IFRS financials,” BIM said in a bourse filing.

BIM will issue a total of TRY304mn worth of bonus shares and distribute TRY729mn worth of cash dividends from its 2018 profit, according to an approval given by the company’s general assembly on May 21.

The total gross amount to be distributed as bonus shares and cash dividends from the 2018 profit equals TRY1.03bn, or 83% of BIM’s TRY1.25bn net profit, up 45% y/y.

TRY2.4 worth of gross dividend per share and TRY2.04 worth of net dividend per share would be distributed.

Cash dividends are to be paid in two equal instalments. TRY1.2 per share as gross worth of the first payment was delivered on June 12.

100%-bonus shares per share were issued on July 24. As a result, the company’s paid-in capital rose to TRY607.2mn from TRY303.6mn.

According to the new capital structure, the second gross dividend payment worth TRY0.60, rather than the previous TRY1.20 per share, or TRY0.51 net, would be delivered on November 18.

There is no change in the total dividend amount and the total amount of the instalments.

Dividend Payments and Bonus Issues for 2019
	2018				Gross	Net
	Net	Total		Gross	Dividend	Dividend
	Profit	Bonus	Bonus	Dividend	per	per		Dividend
	TRY	TRY	share	TRY	Share	Share	Payment	Yield
	mn	mn	%	mn	TRY	TRY	Date	%
TOASO	1,330			880	1.76	1.50	19-Mar	9.97
TAVHL	1,455			758	2.09	1.77	20-Mar	7.93
KORDS	292			68	0.35	0.30	25-Mar	2.76
OTKAR	164			72	3.00	2.55	25-Mar	2.91
AYGAZ	228			372	1.29	1.09	28-Mar	14.17
TUPRS	3,713			3,794	15.15	12.88	28-Mar	12.03
FROTO	1,683			853	2.43	2.07	1-Apr	4.24
KCHOL	5,537			1,009	0.40	0.34	1-Apr	2.41
TBORG	428			537	1.66	1.41	2-Apr	21.12
TKFEN	1,403			422	1.14	0.97	2-Apr	4.34
YUNSA	28			6	0.20	0.17	2-Apr	4.57
SAHOL	3,830			612	0.30	0.26	3-Apr	3.66
BRYAT	24			39	1.37	1.16	4-Apr	4.00
CLEBI	205			129	5.30	4.51	16-Apr	6.22
ENKAI	1,582			750	0.15	0.14	17-Apr	2.82
BFREN	34			25	10.01	8.51	26-Apr	6.56
EREGL	5,598			4,830	1.38	1.25	8-May	18.06
VESBE	623			567	2.98	2.54	15-May	21.02
BRSAN	283			116	0.82	0.70	16-May	10.37
GOODY	126			24	0.09	0.08	27-May	3.42
AEFES	97			300	0.51	0.43	31-May	2.59
ANACM	451			90	0.12	0.10	31-May	4.24
CCOLA	327			300	1.18	1.00	31-May	4.24
SISE	2,326			400	0.18	0.15	31-May	3.33
SODA	1,556			345	0.35	0.29	31-May	4.74
TRKCM	958			170	0.14	0.12	31-May	4.64
BIMAS	1,250			365	1.20	1.02	12-Jun	2.99
SASA	597			209	0.25	0.21	17-Jun	3.73
EGPRO	106			40	0.50	0.42	18-Jun	5.37
TCELL	2,021			1,010	0.46	0.39	18-Jun	3.62
ASELS	2,318			174	0.15	0.13	19-Jun	0.80
PETKM	872	462	28	-	-	-	19-Jun	28
KRDMA	172			63	0.13	0.11	26-Jun	5.93
KRDMB	85			31	0.13	0.11	26-Jun	5.90
KRDMD	557			205	0.13	0.11	26-Jun	5.62
BIMAS	1,250	304	100	274	-	-	24-Jul	100
TCELL	2,021			1,010	0.46	0.39	31-Oct	3.62
BIMAS	1,250			365	0.60	0.51	18-Nov	2.99
KRDMA	172			63	0.13	0.11	27-Nov	5.93
KRDMB	85			31	0.13	0.11	27-Nov	5.90
KRDMD				205	0.13	0.11	27-Nov	5.62
BIMAS	1,250			243	0.40	0.34	11-Dec	1.70

 

In 2014, BIM pledged to distribute a minimum 30% of its distributable profits in upcoming years.

BIM’s average cash dividend yield for the 9-year period between 2010 and 2017 stood at 1.61%, according to Seker Invest’s calculations.

In H1, net profit rose by 7% y/y to TRY562mn, suggesting a profit margin of 3% and a P/E ratio of 23, while earnings per share increased to TRY1.88 from TRY0.97, the company announced in its Q2 financials on August 8.

BIM had a total of 7,970 stores at end-June, including 467 stores in Morocco and 304 stores in Egypt via 100%-owned subsidiaries. It is targeting the opening of 492 new stores in 2019.

BIM also has an 11.5% stake in local footwear retailer Flo, which operates with a paid-in capital of TRY34.5mn.

Morocco unit BIM Stores SARL operates with a paid-in capital of MAD1.16bn (€108mn) and Egypt unit BIM Stores LLC with EGP875mn (€49mn).

BIM, which went operational with 21 stores in 1995, can not sell alcohol and pork products, according to Article 4.4 of its Articles of Association.

Mustafa Latif Topbas, CEO and co-founder of BIM, who doesn't give interviews, has a longstanding friendship with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his family, according to Forbes.

Topbas’ daughter Fatma is married to Ali Ulker, nephew of food billionaire Murat Ulker, who hit the media headlines with a huge debt restructuring across 2018.

The Ulker and Topbas families also have business ties through their companies.

In June 2014, BIM and Yildiz Holding’s venture capital unit Gozde Girisim, owned by the Ulker family, purchased 11.5% stakes in each of Ziylan Group’s three companies, namely Ziylan Magazacilik, Polaris Pazarlama and Ugur Ic ve Dis Ticaret.

Ziylan Group is one of Turkey’s largest footwear makers. The company has the Flo, Polaris and Kinetix brands in its portfolio. It annually sells 20mn pairs of footwear through a network of more than 200 stores.

It was a surprise when the pro-Erdogan Ahaber title, directed by Serhat Albayrak, brother of Erdogan’s finance minister and son-in-law Berat Albayrak, harshly criticised BIM in March, prior to the March 31 local polls, for reporting a record profit in 2018.

During the local elections campaign, Erdogan accused local retailers of treason for hiking prices, but since the polls the government and retailers have agreed on a discount scheme.