Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Jim Ovia and two other top Nigerian businessmen earned N506 billion as dividend in 2022, Blueprint Newspaper has gathered.
A cursory analysis of the financial statements of listed companies on the Nigerian Exchange reveals that about 60 companies have so far declared dividends worth over N1.5 trillion for the 2022 financial year.
Dangote led other investors, getting N293, 960 billion as dividends in 2022, accounting for approximately 58.09 per cent of the total N506.071 billion.
The dividend earnings for Alhaji Aliko Dangote reflect his substantial ownership and involvement in Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar Refinery, two prominent companies in Nigeria’s industrial sector.
The Chairman and founder of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and his indirect investors are set to earn N166.333 billion from his holdings in BUA Cement and BUA Foods for the 2022 financial year.
His dividend earnings account for approximately 32.87 per cent of the total dividends received by the twelve billionaires covered in the analysis, indicating the significant income generated from his investments.
BUA Cement declared a dividend per share of N2.80, which will be paid on August 23, 2023. Similarly, BUA Foods declared a final dividend per share of N4.50, with a payment date set for September 21, 2023
Abdul Samad Rabiu has a substantial ownership in BUA Foods, with 16.172 billion units of shares owned directly and 501.189 million units owned indirectly, totalling a controlling right of 92.63 per cent in the company.
Femi Otedola and his indirect investors received a total of N19.111 billion in dividend earnings.
This stems from his 95.65 per cent stake in Geregu comprising 1,245 units of shares held directly and 2.389 billion units held indirectly.
Geregu declared a final dividend per share of N8, which was paid on March 30, 2023. This pay-out represents an approximately 196 percent pay-out ratio, indicating that the dividend paid was higher than the company’s earnings for the year under review.
Jim Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, earned N16.244 billion from his direct and indirect stake in the bank as the company declared and paid a total dividend per share of N3.20 for 2022.
Zenith Bank declared an interim dividend of 30k per share in the half year-period of the year and N2.90 final dividend for the full year, which was paid to shareholders on May 2, 2023.
Mr Ovia owns 3.55 billion units of shares directly in the bank with an additional 1.52 billion indirect shares, giving him a 16.15 per cent stake in the bank.
Tony Elumelu, who is the chairman of the United Bank for Africa, owns a total of 2.38 billion in the Pan-African Bank.
