A new Bahrain Duty Free shop will be opening at the King Fahad Causeway within six to eight months, the company's chairman Farouk Almoayyed has said.

Almoayyed revealed it on the sidelines of the company's Annual General Meeting at the Gulf Hotel, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Declining to reveal details like the investment being made and the products that will be offered at the shop, Almoayyed said it would be smaller than the Bahrain Duty Free shop at the airport.

Earlier, in the meeting, the chairman announced that the company had achieved a net profit of BD8.5 ($22.5 million) for last year, recording a growth of BD2.1 million or 32.7 per cent compared to prior year.

Earnings per share increased to 80fils from 59fils per share.

The increase in profit last year was partly due to a 10.4 per cent increase in passengers at Bahrain International Airport.

Almoayyed said based on the results, shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend of BD5.3 million or 50fils per share.

Shareholders also approved the increase in the issued and authorised share capital from BD10.6 million to BD11.7 million.

Almoayyed said the company saw an increase in sales by 7.8 per cent for last year at BD28 million.

Investment earnings saw a jump of 75.8 per cent at BD3.7 million surpassing expectations, he said.

The investment portfolio increased by 15.5 per cent to BD28.9 million. Bahrain Duty Free completed the refurbishment of the arrivals shop at BIA and a new fashion shop featuring new international brands was also opened there last year. - TradeArabia News Service