First Active will pay a €160 million bonus to its shareholders, the High Court was told yesterday. A petition to reduce the company's equity capital will be heard by the court on April 28th. Mr Dan O'Keeffe SC, for the company, told Mr Justice Lavan each ordinary shareholder would get a €1.12 bonus per share under the proposal.

In its petition, the company stated that, as a result of resolutions passed at its annual general meeting on March 27th last, the authorised share capital of the company is now €160 million, divided into 200 million ordinary shares at €0.32 each and 300 million A ordinary shares at €0.32.

The issued share capital of the company is €137,342,435, comprising 143,065,037 ordinary shares at €0.32 each and 286,130,074 "A" ordinary shares at €0.32 each, all of which have been fully paid up. The share premium account now stands at €72,920,489.

The annual report for the First Active group of companies for 2002 showed a profit after taxation of €103.7 million and a positive net asset value of €426.7 million. First Active's own balance sheet recorded retained profits of €213.1 million and a positive net asset value of €351.9 million.

In addition, an exceptional gain arose from the disposal of the group's interest in its British business, Brittanic Money. The amount of capital in the business (share capital, share premia and retained profits) has risen strongly while its risk profile has reduced with the disposal of its British business. The company's level of equity capital was "well in excess" of the regulatory minimum, the petition said.