BUA Foods will pay shareholders N99 billion in cash rewards for the financial year 2023, translating to a dividend per share of N5.50, according to a regulatory filing by the food processing company on Wednesday.
The highest ever in the company’s history, the proposed dividend compares with the N4.50 per share paid for 2022 and the N3.50 paid a year earlier.
If the move receives shareholders’ approval at the next annual general meeting, the dividends “will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at the close of business on 23rd August 2024,” the document said.
The payment is subject to appropriate withholding tax.
It puts Abdul Samad Rabiu, the billionaire tycoon who controls the parent BUA Group, on track for a N94.3 billion cash payment based on his 95.3 per cent ownership in the company.
His brother, Kabiru Isyaku Rabiu, also owns 1.4 million shares in the company and sits on its board as a non-executive director. He is also a member of the group’s directors’ board, where he is an executive director.
The dividend proposal followed a remarkable financial result, which saw BUA Foods report a 22.7 per cent improvement in net profit from N91.3 billion in 2022 to N112.1 billion last year.
Revenue for the period quickened by 74.4 per cent to N729.4 billion, following a sharp surge in the sales of fortified and non-fortified sugar, which account for nearly three-fifths of the company’s turnover.
BUA Foods also derives income from the sales of rice, bran, pasta, bakery flour and molasses.
“2023 witnessed a very challenging operating environment characterized by macroeconomic headwinds. We were able to navigate these challenges leveraging our unique strategic business model to deliver a strong performance,” Managing Director Ayodele Oni said in a separate document.
BUA Foods was listed on the Nigerian Exchange three years ago at a market value of N720 billion. The company is now worth N6.8 trillion, 41 per cent higher than the valuation of BUA Cement, the group’s flagship company.
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