Custodian, NEM, six others declare N4.41bn dividend to shareholders

Nigeria’s largest insurer by shareholders fund, Custodian Investment, along with seven other insurance firms declared dividend amounting to N4.41 billion to owners in full-year 2018.

Dividend is a monetary reward given by a company to its shareholders as compensation for risk in committing their capital to the business. At the end of a financial year, quoted companies issue part of its profit to owners of shares as a form of reward.

Custodian Plc declared 35 kobo per share to shareholders, the highest in the industry, followed by NEM (13 kobo per share), Axa Mansard and AIICO (6 kobo per share), Prestige, Regalins, (3 kobo per share), Consolidated Hallmark and Law, Union & Rock (2 kobo per share).

Four insurers were able to elevate dividend pay- out to shareholders in the review year despite rising operating expenses, tough economic conditions and low patronage for insurance products.

AIICO insurance raised payout to 6 kobo per share in 2018, from 5 kobo per share in the preceding year. Custodian Plc also raised its pay-out to 35 kobo

per share from 32 kobo it had paid the year before while Axa Mansard increased its dividend reward by 1 kobo per share to 6 kobo per share. NEM improved its dividend pay-out to 13 kobo per share in 2018, from 10 kobo per share in 2017 to 13 kobo per share in 2018.

Consequently, the improvement in pay-out for shareholders of AIICO in 2018 rose by N69 million or 20 percent over the value delivered in 2017. Custodian Investment grew dividend by N180 million, from N1.89 trillion in the preceding year to N 2.07 trillion in full-year 2018.

Axa Mansard plc was able to deliver N105 million extra as dividend from N630 million paid in 2017. NEM upped its total pay-out by N150 million to N680 million in the review period.

In 2018, Prestige Assurance was able to surmount headwinds, by proposing N159 million-its first dividend declared in the last five financial years.

The insurance sector is currently down by 8 percent so far in 2019, underperforming the equities market which has lost 3.9 percent in the same period.

However, the sector returned fewer losses to investors compared to other sectors, Industrial goods (-11.7%), Banking (-11.9%), Oil & Gas (-15.3%) and Consumer goods (-16.2%).