WILLEMSTAD – State-owned fuel company Curoil has built a sufficiently strong financial position to support a substantially higher dividend payout to the Government of Curaçao without jeopardizing its financial stability, according to the Stichting Bureau Toezicht en Normering Overheidsentiteiten (SBTNO).
In its assessment of Curoil's 2023 and 2024 financial results, SBTNO concluded that the company remains financially healthy even if 50 percent of its net profits are distributed as dividends instead of the traditional 10 percent.
The company's equity has grown significantly over the past several years. Shareholders' equity increased from approximately NAf 150 million in 2022 to nearly NAf 180 million in 2023 and almost NAf 213 million in 2024.
As a result, Curoil's solvency ratio improved from nearly 35 percent in 2022 to almost 48 percent in 2024. This is well above the minimum benchmark of 30 percent generally applied to commercial enterprises.
SBTNO emphasized that a dividend policy should not be designed to retain enough equity to absorb every conceivable financial or economic shock. Instead, a company should maintain sufficient financial resources to continue operating under normal circumstances and withstand both short-term and long-term incidents.
According to the supervisory body, Curoil continues to satisfy those conditions even after the proposed dividend distribution.
The watchdog therefore sees no reason to oppose the Ministry of Finance's proposal to increase the dividend payout ratio.