Companies Act (Cap. 386), article 192

192. (1) A company shall not make a distribution except out of profits available for the purpose. (2) For the purposes of this Chapter, "distribution" means every description of distribution of a company’s assets to its member s, whether in cash or otherwise, except distribution by way of - (a) an issue of shares as fully or partly paid bonus shares; (b) the redemption or purchase of any of the company’s own shares out of capital, including the proceeds of any fresh issue of shares, or out of undistributable reserves as stipulated in article 193(3); (c) the reduction of the issued share capital by extinguishing or reducing the liability of any of the members on any of the company’s shares in respect of issued share capital not paid up, or by paying off paid up issued share capital; and (d) a distribution of assets to members of the company on its winding up. (3) For the purposes of this Chapter, a company’s profits available for distribution shall be its accumulated, realised p rofits, so far as not previously utilised by distribution or capitalisa tion, less its accumulated, realised lo sses, so far as not previously written off in a reduction or reorganisation of issued share ca pital duly made. The provisions of this sub-article shall be subject to the provisions of articles 194 and 195. (4) A company shall not apply an unrealised profit in paying up debentures, or any amounts unpaid on its issued share capital. ( 5 ) W h e r e t h e d i r e c t o r s o f a c ompany are, after making all reasonable enquiries, unable to determine whether a particular profit made before the 1st Janu ary, 1995 is realised or unreali sed, they may treat the profit as real ised; and where after making s uch enquiries they are unable to determine whether a particular los s so made is realised or unrealised, they may treat the loss as unre alised. Distributions by companies. Amended by: XXXI. 2015.17; XVIII.2025.28.