Kayode Tokede  

The shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement, Transcorp Power, Lafarge Cement, and three other big firms on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) are to share an estimated N633.95 billion as a dividend payout in the 2024 financial year.
This is about a 2.65 per cent increase when compared to the N654.1 billion dividend payout by these seven companies in the 2023 financial year.

 Despite the challenges in the operating environment, these firms declared impressive profits in the 2024 financial year, which translated to dividend payout.
 For instance, Dangote Cement, which declared N503.2 billion profit in 2024, an increase of 10 per cent from N455.6 billion in 2023, has proposed a dividend of N30.00 per share, which is N506.21 billion.
Dangote Cement, for the second consecutive year, is paying shareholders a dividend of N30.00 per share.
 The cement marker’s market capitalisation at the Exchange is currently at N8.1 trillion as the stock price has remained at N480 per share lately.

 The group’s profit before tax increased to N732.5 billion, from N553.1 billion recorded in 2023. With a net tax expense of N229.3 billion, the group’s net profit was N503.2 billion
“On Monday, June 23, 2025, the dividends will be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as of Monday, June 9, 2025, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts,” the company said in a statement posted on NGX.

 Similarly, the management of BUA Cement recommended for the approval of shareholders a payment of N2.05 dividend per one ordinary share of 50 kobo each, out of the profits declared in the financial year ended 2024 from N2.00 paid in 2023.

In terms of value, BUA Cement is paying shareholders N69.42 billion as dividends in 2024, up by 2.5 per cent from the N67.73 billion paid in 2023.
Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) and two other listed subsidiaries quoted on the Exchange have also proposed a total N55.24 billion dividend in 2024, up from N29.57 billion proposed in 2023.

The breakdown showed that Transcorp Hotel Plc dividend payout moved from N2.05 billion in 2023 to N7.6 billion in 2024, while Transcorp Power proposed a dividend of N37.5 billion in 2024, up by 59.8 per cent from N23.46 billion in 2023.
 In addition, the management of Transnational Corporation proposed a dividend of N10.16 billion in 2024, an increase of 150 per cent from N4.06 billion in 2023.  

 In the year under review, Geregu Power proposed N21.25 billion as a dividend to shareholders, up by 6.25 per cent from N20 billion in 2023, while Lafarge Cement Plc management recommended N19.33 billion dividend payout to shareholders in 2024, down by 36.8 per cent from N30.6 billion paid in i2023.

“The Board of Directors has proposed a gross dividend of 120k (2023: 190k) on every ordinary share in issue, amounting to N19,329,354,315.78 (2023: N30,604,811,869.90). The proposed dividend is subject to approval by the Shareholders at the Annual General Meeting,” the management of Lafarge Cement disclosed in the 2024 financial statement posted on NGX.
Meanwhile, capital market stakeholders have lauded these blue-chip companies for maintaining effectiveness in growing revenue that impacted profit and dividend payout.

They noted that these companies have proven to remain key fundamental stocks on the bourse.
The National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie expressed satisfaction with the listed companies that have declared the 2024 financial year and proposed dividend payout, stressing that Nigerian companies remain resilient amid challenges.

On his part, an Investment Banker and Stockbroker, Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka, said the dividend payout should be commended, stressing that Nigeria’s economy in 2024 was not favourable amid a double-digit inflation rate, unstable foreign exchange, among other macroeconomic indicators.