NEWS Investors of 7 firms earn N111bn dividend in H1 operations

Seven companies will pay N111.4 billion as interim dividend to their shareholders following their audited accounts for operations in the first half or this year.

The sum was recommended by the respective boards of directors of the firms. The sum was also approved despite the disruption to business operations which saw some of the businesses suspend physical access for customers for nearly three months.

The seven companies are Access bank Plc, 11 PLC, Zenith bank plc, Guarantee Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, United bank for Africa, and telecom giant, MTN Nigeria.

MTN investors saw the biggest share as they will earn N3.50k per share, about N71.2bn. it is among the top gainers with a double-digit surge in the first quarter of 2020.

Zenith Bank Plc was the second highest with a total payout of N9.4bn at 30kobo per share.

Access bank and GTB have proposed a total payout of N8.8bn respectively. Access is paying 25 kobo per share to its 35.5 million shareholders while GTB is paying 30 kobo per share to its 29m shareholders.

UBA is paying out N5.8bn for its 34m shares at 17 kobo per share. Stanbic is paying a total of N4.2bn at 40 kobo for its 10.5m shares, while 11PLC (former Mobil) is paying a total of N2.9bn at N8.25kobo per share.

Analysts have said that shareholders are still hopeful that market giants like Dangote Cement, Nestle, and Seplat may still declare interim dividends which will excite investors especially after the impact of the pandemic on their income.

From left: Executive Director, Corporate Services, Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Dr Bala Bello; Managing Director, NEXIM Abba Bello; Gov. Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State, and the Executive Director, Business Development, Mrs Stella Okotete, during the governor’s visit to NEXIM office in Abuja recently.