As Nigerian companies begin to report their 2021 full-year profit and revenue, we also see notifications of dividend declaration and payments to shareholders, which are paid out of the company’s profits and/or retained earnings.
Out of 21 quoted FMCGs on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Nestle Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Nascon Allied Plc, and Nigerian Breweries Plc have declared total dividend payments for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The dividends declared by these companies are Nestle Plc
Nestle Plc declared a final dividend of N25.50 per share following the release of its FY 2021 Audited results. The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of N25.00 per share to its shareholders, breaking the total dividend declared for the financial year to N50.50.
This makes a total payment of N40.03 billion to shareholders as dividends.
A cursory look reveals that Nestle Plc paid out almost all its profit generated during the period as dividends. The company reported a net profit of N40.04 billion, paying 99.98 per cent of it as dividends.
Nestle Plc reported a 2.10 per cent growth in Profit After Tax for the FY 2021. Earnings per share likewise grew by 2.10 per cent from N49.47 in 2020 to N50.51 in 2021.
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc
Dangote Sugar Plc has declared a total of N30.37 billion to be paid to its shareholders as dividends for the 2021 financial year.
The company had paid N1.50 kobo in May 2021 as interim dividend and recently declared a final dividend of N1.00 to be paid in the coming months.
A further look shows that the total consideration for dividends paid exceeds the profit declared by the company for FY 2021. Dangote Sugar reported a profit after tax of N22.05 billion, which may suggest that the excess of N8.31 billion was paid from the company’s retained earnings.
Dangote Sugar Plc recorded a decline of 25.94 per cent in profit after tax, hence earnings per share dropped to N1.82 from N2.45 in 2020.
Nascon Allied Plc
Nascon Allied Plc recently notified the exchange of a final dividend of N0.40 kobo to be paid to shareholders, bringing the total consideration to N1.06 billion.
The dividend payment, according to the company’s disclosure is scheduled for June 6th, 2022.
The national sugar company had recently released its Audited Financial Statement for 2021, revealing a net profit of N2.97 billion for the period. Hence, the company paid out roughly 36 per cent of its profit as dividends.
Nascon Allied Plc declared a 10.43 per cent increase in net profit, as earnings per share also grew to N1.12 from N1.02 in 2020.
Nigerian Breweries Plc
Nigerian Breweries Plc, the second most capitalized brewery, recently declared a final dividend of N1.20 to be paid to its shareholders on the 22nd of April, 2022. The brewer had paid an interim dividend of N0.40 kobo in December 2022, taking the total dividend to N1.60 kobo.
The total amount to be paid by the company as dividends is N12.92 billion.
A cursory look at the company’s audited financials showed that the company declared profit of N12.67 billion for the period, which may suggest that the excess of N249 million paid as dividends was taken from the company’s retained earnings.
Nigerian Breweries Plc reported a 1.97 per cent decline in its net profit, while Earnings per share dipped by 2.48 per cent from N1.61 kobo in 2020 to N1.57 kobo in 2021.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Presco Plc declared interim dividend per share of N1.00 for the financial year ended December 2021 which was paid in November 2021.Also, PZ Cussons Plc declared dividend payment of N0.25 kobo for the period ended 31st of May 2021, which was paid in January 2022.