SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it is paying out 447.6 billion won ($373.9 million) in dividends for the fiscal 2021 in an effort to promote shareholder value.

The company's board approved the year-end dividend payment of 6,500 per common stock and 6,550 won per preferred share, amounting to 368.3 billion won, SK said in a regulatory filing.

SK paid the interim dividends of 1,500 won per common stock, or 79.3 billion won, in August last year.

The 447.6 billion won dividend payout is up 21 percent from the previous year's 370.1 billion won and the largest ever since its 2015 launch, according to the company.

In a separate filing, SK said its net income for 2021 came to 5.7 trillion won, turning to the black from a loss of 108.4 billion won a year earlier.

Operating profit for the year also swung to the black at 4.95 trillion won, with sales growing 21.7 percent on-year to 98.3 trillion won.

SK Inc. has been heavily investing in advanced materials, bio, green and digital sectors as its four areas of future growth drivers under a blueprint to grow into a global investment firm with 140 trillion won in market cap by 2025. (Yonhap)