Stakeholders of the leading cement manufacturing company, Dangote Cement and MTN, Africa’s leading telecom company, are smiling to the bank as the companies emerged as the best dividend-paying companies in 2021.
Available statistics say that Nigerian firms paid a total of N989 billion as dividends from January to September this year. This represents a 27 per cent spike from the same period last year.
Among them are 30 of some of the most capitalised companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange which paid shares this year and in 2020.
In this year, Dangote Cement paid about N272 billion in share dividends while MTN followed with a total of N212.7 billion. MTN share shareholders saw a 23 per cent hike in dividends payments, according to Nairametrics.
No other organisation was able to pay close to N100 billion in dividends this year.
Zenith Bank and GTCO paid N94.2 billion and N79.5 billion in dividends during the year, while BUA Cement rounded up the top 5 dividend payers with N70 billion paid put.
Stanbic IBTC, Access Bank and Nestle paid N54 billion, N30.2 billion and N27.5 billion respectively. Lafarge and Seplat completed the top 10 dividend payers with N24.7 billion and N23.1 billion respectively.
The highest ten payers gave a combined N888.1 billion in dividends.
Despite the obstacles caused by COVID-19, Nigerian companies showed strength and resilience in their financials. Their humongous dividends payment also underscores their size.
This year saw a jump in the price of cement spearheaded by Dangote Cement and BUA Group. Despite the hikes in the cost of cement and other building materials, Nigerians still patronised them.
BUA Group and Dangote Cement were recently embroiled in a price war while MTN and other mobile telecoms operators have been battling it out on mobile data.
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