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Seplat

Seplat confirms exchange rate to determine interim dividend

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Seplat Energy Plc has confirmed the currency exchange rates to be applied in determining the interim dividend for the third quarter of 2021.

The Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr Emeka Onwuka, disclosed this in a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Monday in Lagos.

It noted that the currency exchange rate would be applicable to shareholders that qualify for and elected to receive the dividend payment in naira or pound sterling (GBP).

It said: “Exchange rate: one dollar to N413.64 and one dollar to 0.7468 GBP.

“The exchange rate for the naira or pound sterling amounts payable was determined by reference to the exchange rates applicable to the U.S. dollar available on Nov. 12.

“The closing date for dividend currency election to the company’s registrars is Nov. 30.

“In the absence of a qualifying dividend currency election by shareholders to the appropriate registrar, dividends will be paid in their default currency.

“Shareholders should refer to the company’s announcement on Oct. 28 2021 for definition of default currency and dividend currency election forms can be found on the company website,” it said.

dangote-cement

Dangote Cement declares N272.6bn dividends

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Loveth Okoli

Shareholders of Dangote Cement have commended the total dividend of N272.6 billion recommended by the company for the financial year ended Dec. 31,  2020, in spite of the economic challenges.

The shareholders, however, unanimously at the 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually approved the dividend which translated to N16 per share.

Speaking on behalf of shareholders, the founder, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Sunny Nwosu,  commended the company for attaining a trillion-naira revenue growth.

Nwosu appealed to the company to prevail on its numerous distributors who arbitrarily sell cement at very high costs as against the real factory price, thereby making so much profit for themselves and causing undue pressure on consumers.

Also, a shareholder, Mr Nona Awoh, commended the board for the consistency in dividend payout, urging the board to consider payment of dividend twice a year.

The shareholders lauded the management for the full disclosure provided for the year, share buyback process and the various donations made to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the shareholders, Chairman of Dangote Cement, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, assured them of better returns, noting that the company was doing everything possible to create wealth for its shareholders and other stakeholders.

Dangote further said in spite of  the challenging year ocassioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a record year for the company across board

He said the board maintained the 2019 dividend of N16 per share, reinforcing its commitment to maximising shareholders value.

“Dangote Cement hit the N1 trillion mark in terms of revenue. Group revenues were up 16 per cent compared to 2019. We record group cement sales of 25.7 million tonnes (Mt) and revenues of N1.034 trillion. Most notably was our record high EBITDA of N478.1 billion, up 20.9 per cent compared to 2019.

“In 2020, we commissioned our Apapa and Onne export terminals in Nigeria and commenced clinker exports to West and Central Africa.

“The vision for our exporter strategy is to make West and Central Africa cement and clinker self-sufficient, with Nigeria as the main supplier and exporter.

“We also remain focused on meeting the demand in Nigeria and as such, we increased our capacity by three MT on Obajana and we commissioned our gas-fired power plant in Tanzania.

“Our Nigerian domestic operations sold 15.6Mt, up 14.3 per cent year-on-year, growing ahead the market.

“This strong volume growth was enhanced by our successful innovative national consumer promotion ‘Bag of Goodies- Season 2’, lower rains in the third quarter  compared to the previous year and the low interest rate environment driving strong demand for real estate assets and supporting the construction sector.

“Pan-Africa volumes were up by 4.4 per cent to 10.0Mt despite the various lock-downs and restrictions in 2020. The Pan-African region achieved a record high EBITDA of N71.3 billion, up 49.0 per cent, notably supported by strong performance in Ethiopia and Senegal,” he said.

On the outlook for 2021, Dangote said the company  would sustain present growth, noting that the board was considering all strategic and financial options for the company.

“We will continue to improve our efforts in sustainability by applying ‘The Dangote Way’ to the seven sustainability pillars of our business culture and operations.

“We are also focused on increasing capacity in the Nigerian market and building grinding plants across West and Central Africa to be fed clinker from Nigeria. We welcome the Africa Free Trade Agreement which supports our export strategy and long-term growth in Africa.

“Dangote Cement is well positioned to capture demand driven by the economic recovery in 2021, as the region recovers from the impact of the pandemic and all our countries of operation return to growth,” Dangote said.

Breweries records drop in profit

Shareholders approve Nigerian Breweries’ N7.52bn dividend for 2020

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Shareholders of Nigerian Breweries (NB)  PLC. at the 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held April 22 approved dividend of N7.52 billion for the 2020 financial year.

Mrs Sade Morgan, Corporate Affairs Director of the company, said this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

Morgan said the company assured the shareholders of its commitment to continually improve returns on their investments.

Morgan said the shareholders noted at the AGM that the total dividend payout came as a result of the exceptional performance recorded by the company for the 2020 financial year.

They stated that the 2020 results contained in the audited report and the 100 per cent dividend payout was a strong reflection of the company’s stability as well as its resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and operating challenges in the economy.

Morgan said one of the shareholders, Mr Boniface Okezie, who spoke at the meeting, hailed the board and management of Nigerian Breweries Plc for helping to maintain a strong and healthy balance sheet amidst recession and inflation that had affected businesses and the Nigerian economy in general.

According to Okezie, the fact that the company remained competitive despite the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, demonstrates the uniqueness of the cost-saving measures deployed.

“Despite the impact of the recession and COVID-19 pandemic, the company still maintained stability. This goes to show the quality of leadership at the company.

“I must confess that the board and management have done well to keep to the promise of paying dividends.

“We can only hope that they keep up the tempo so that we can receive higher dividends in the next financial year,” Okezie said.

Shareholders who were in attendance expressed appreciation to the board and management of the company for exhibiting the great capacity to keep the company going and stable, amid challenges, said the statement.

It added that the shareholders hailed the company for making a total dividend payment at a time when most listed companies found it hard to pay dividends to their shareholders.

The statement said Chief Kola Jamodu, the NB Chairman, explained that each shareholder would receive a final dividend of N0.69k at an ordinary share of 50k, haven received an interim dividend of 25k.

On his part, the Company Secretary/Legal Director, Mr Uaboi Agbebaku said the 2020 financial year recorded a significant boost in sales volume,  though the cost of sales rose from N191.76 billion  to N218.36 billion.

Agbebaku who was optimistic about the growth of the company going forward, noted that it would continue to give utmost priority to the welfare of its shareholders in its decision making.

The statement said a breakdown of the company’s audited results showed  that its profit after tax (PAT) for 2020 stood at N7.52 billion while net revenue increased sharply from N323 billion to 337.01 billion between 2019 and 2020, representing a 4.3 per cent rise.

Marketing and distribution expenses reduced from N77.70 billion in 2019 to N70.7 billion in 2020, while administrative expenses also dipped by 1.79 per cent from N19.30 billion to N18.96 billion, which was largely informed by the elimination of bad costs.

Naira1

Institute seeks utilisation of unclaimed dividends

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Moses Uwagbale

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has called for stakeholder education on debt funding and utilisation of unclaimed dividends.

Mrs Taiwo Olusesi, Registrar, ICSAN, gave the advice in a communique to newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.

Olusesi urged the relevant government bodies to engage the investing public more regularly and obtain their feedback on improving the debt funding system and the utilisation of the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund (UFTF).

Olusesi said the advice became pertinent to address the problems of distrust between investors, depositors and the government.

According to her, maintaining investors’ confidence and allaying their doubts and fears is very paramount.

“Hence, the relevant government bodies should engage the investing public more regularly and obtain their feedback on improving the debt funding system and the utilisation of the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund (UFTF),” she said.

Olusesi listed the causes of unclaimed dividends to include improper completion of application forms, omission, inaccessible or wrong addresses, and irregular signature.

Others, she said, were failure to communicate changes of address, death of shareholder, unreported bank account closure, incomplete and illegible records, incorrect details of next of kin, poor attitude of shareholder and strategic negligence.

Olusesi tasked government on transparency, proper disclosure, and

due process in the management and administration of the funds to minimise, if not eliminate, the distrust which breeds suspicion and fear on the part of the people.

She also advised banks and listed companies to entrench the culture of Know Your Customers with proper documentation of their identities and personal details.

“Government, through its regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and others should exploit the option of linking the Biometric Verification Number and the National Identity Number with the shareholders and depositors’ accounts.

“All stakeholders involved in the management of the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund must strive to discharge the responsibilities professionally, ethically, and with integrity.

“Furthermore, they must provide feedback to the government through the various channels on the outcomes and practical challenges of implementing the fund.

“There must be proper channels that are well set out and made known to the public to claim dividends once in the government coffers, and notice must be given to concerned investors on recouping their investments.

“Shareholders should be educated of the various mechanisms, such as

Security Exchange Commission’s e-dividend portal to verify the existence of any unclaimed dividends and how the same can be recovered before such funds are due to be transferred to the UFTF.

“There is also the need for the proper education of many stakeholders on the procedure for the recovery of unclaimed assets under the Finance Act 2020,” she said.

Olusesi also said a detailed implementation plan for the utilisation of the funds must be made public and key performance indicators must be published, to enable the public to assess the performance of the fund from time to time.

“Those implementing the UFTF should develop a robust database that is

readily accessible by the public and provide periodic reports on the

utilisation of the UFTF funds to increase investors’ confidence,” she said.

lafarge-cement

Lafarge declares N16.11bn total dividend for 2020

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Moses Uwagbale

Lafarge Africa Plc on Wednesday declared a total dividend of N16.11 billion for the 2020 financial year, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic challenges.

The dividend translated to N1 per share and would be payable to shareholders on the register of the cement group as at the close of business on May 7.

The company’s audited results for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2020 released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed impressive performance in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.

Specifically, turnover rose by 8.3 per cent to N230.57 billion from N212.99 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2019.

Profit after tax rose by 98.8 per cent to N30.84 billion compared with N15.52 billion posted in 2019, while earnings per share stood at N1.91, an increase of 98.8 per cent from 96k in 2019.

Cost of sales inched higher by four per cent to N163.33 billion from N157.05 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

Also, gross profit appreciated by 20.2 per cent to N67.24 billion as against N55.95 billion recorded in 2019.

Net finance expense declined by 49.9 per cent year-on-year to N8.5 billion as the business continued to benefit from previous deleveraging efforts.

Speaking on the report, the Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa, Mr Khaled El Dokani, attributed the performance to its “Health, Cost & Cash” action plan.

“Our ‘Health, Cost & Cash’ action plan delivered results in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered inflationary and naira devaluation pressures and production challenges.

“Full year 2020 results remained resilient, with net sales growth of 8.3 per cent, recurring EBIT of 30.8 per cent growth and net income of 98.8 per cent growth.

“We are proud of our people, who stand with our communities, and of our sustainability commitments to accelerate the net zero pledge through affordable clean energy and our agri-ecology footprint,” he said.

On outlook for 2021, Dokani said that the company would focus on the implementation of its strategy and execution of the “HEALTH, COST and CASH” action plan.

Lafarge Africa Plc, a sub-Saharan Africa building materials company, is a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, a world leader in building materials.

Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Lafarge Africa is actively participating in the urbanisation and economic growth of Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa.

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Shareholders against unclaimed dividend trust fund

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By Tanko Mohammed

The Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) has kicked against establishment of unclaimed dividend trust fund being proposed in the Finance Bill 2021.

ISAN made this known in a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Dr Anthony Omojola, and Coordinator Emeritus, Mr Sunny Nwosu.

It said that creation of  the trust fund and transfer of unclaimed dividends into the federation account were uncalled for.

According to the association, the process may encourage corruption and nepotism to the detriment of the shareholders/beneficiaries of returns on investments.

ISAN said that the proposed bill would not serve the interest of shareholders.

“We want to state that the proposed bill will not serve our interest now and in the foreseeable future.

“In fact, it could cause unwarranted hardship and misappropriation of our investments.

“For this and other numerous reasons, we plead that the Finance Bill 2021 (Part V) be expunged,” it said.

ISAN noted that dividends were private wealth of investors, either individuals or corporate entities.

It said that converting private wealth to Federal Government revenue would 

violate the right to own property/assets as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

“Dividends, including unclaimed dividends, are funds generated by private companies and made available to  shareholders in line with the provisions of CAMA and the Company Memart.

“Unclaimed dividends belong to shareholders of companies, and there is adequate provision that, in the event of failure to claim, such funds should revert  to the operations of the companies.

“There are good structures around this position; government should enhance the structures.

“We are an association of over 10,000 members spread all over Nigeria.

“Our avowed interest is the protection of the cherished values and welfare of shareholders in general – members and non-members, nationwide,” ISAN said.