Publicly-listed financial services conglomerate ATR KimEng Financial Corporation (ATRKE Financial) has reported that its Board of Directors has approved the declaration of cash dividends in the amount of P0.08 per share to be taken from the unrestricted retained earnings of the company as of December 31, 2008.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), ATRKE Financial executive vice president Renato Leveriza Jr. also said that the board has delegated to its management the authority to set the record date and payment date for the distribution of the same dividends, subject to all applicable laws and rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the PSE.

The cash dividends total P79.1 million. ATRKE Financial has 989,253,179 shares outstanding as of November 2009.

The company earlier reported it posted consolidated net income of P137 million as of September 30, 2009, or an increase of 77 percent over the same nine-month period last year. The increase was buoyed by the strong performance of its insurance and capital markets businesses. Its total assets stood at P4.7 billion, 7% higher compared to the previous year level.

ATR KimEng Financial Corporation is a publicly-listed diversified financial services company, specializing in capital markets, insurance, real estate and other investments.

The Group is principally involved in corporate finance and advisory services (equity IPOs and secondary offers, bond underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, debt restructuring); stockbroking and equity research; life and general insurance underwriting and distribution, and insurance broking; asset management (mutual funds and trust fund management); foreign exchange and fixed income broking; and real estate investments. The Group enjoys equity distribution access throughout Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.