Nigerian Companies paying high dividends in 2022

One of the most significant factors to consider when making financial decisions is your projected return. When stock prices rise, stock investors might profit from capital gains. Dividends, on the other hand, can be profitable even when the stock price decreases.

Companies may opt to pay dividends for a variety of reasons, including compensating current shareholders and enticing new ones. Some corporations, on the other hand, prefer not to pay dividends and instead invest their revenues elsewhere.

What are Dividends?

Dividends are profit payouts from investments. They are directly paid to shareholders from business earnings, with the option to reinvest them.

To fulfill its objectives and develop its firm to profitability, a corporation must rely on cash from its shareholders. Despite the fact that investors are aware that they are taking a huge gamble, they expect capital appreciation if the firm succeeds.

Investors can earn by selling shares when they rise in value and taking capital gains, but many companies also pay shareholders directly to encourage them to keep investing their money in the company. Dividends are the term for these payouts.

Why are investors interested in Company Dividends?

Dividend distribution may be an excellent source of consistent income streams, regardless of their price. Many investors will choose to put their money into firms that have a history of increasing their dividends than those with no history.

They also look out for corporations that are rooted and don't need to reinvest revenues to develop. Compared to developing corporations or start-ups, these companies are more likely to pay dividends on a regular basis. Investors shy away from how by-growth companies like IT firms because all their profits will be reinvested into the company to acquire scale. 

So far in the fiscal year 2022, investors in the Nigerian stock market have garnered much profits from their holdings in listed companies, with dividend payouts totaling over N1.24 trillion for the fiscal year 2021.

Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, Zenith Bank, GT Bank, and Airtel Africa topped the list of firms with the biggest dividend payments for the year under review, according to statistics maintained by Nairalyitcs, Nairametrics' research arm.

According to the research arm, manufacturing (FMCG and industrial), telecommunications, finance, oil & gas, and agriculture are just a few of the industries represented. The firms had a very successful year in 2021, with over N11 trillion in revenue and over N2 trillion in profit after tax.

Here's our top five (5) of companies that pay high dividends in 2022:

 1. Dangote Cement: For the fiscal year ending December 2021, Dangote Cement Plc declared a dividend of N20 per share. This is a 25% increase above the N16 budgeted for the 2020 fiscal year. The company didn't pay shareholders interim dividends during the course of the year. Dividends will be distributed, come June 15, only to shareholders whose names are on the Register of Members at the close of business on May 30, 2022, subject to the necessary withholding tax. The entire compensation will be N340.8 billion, which would be distributed electronically to ordinary shareholders.

 2. MTN Nigeria: Telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria Communication Plc topped the dividends list after its shareholders authorized payment of a final dividend of N174.44 billion, or N8.75 per share. This brought the company's total dividends for the year ending December 31, 2021 to N13.12 per share. In July of 2021, it issued an interim dividend of N4.55 per share. The corporation's shareholders gave their consent at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

 3. Zenith Bank: Zenith Bank Plc shareholders voted to approve the proposed final dividend at the bank's 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on April 6, 2022. They unanimously approved a final dividend payment of NGN2.80 per share, bringing the total dividend for the 2021 fiscal year to NGN3.10 per share with a total value of NGN97.33 billion.

Zenith Bank was named Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria at the World Finance Banking Awards 2021, as well as Best Bank in Nigeria in the Global Finance World's Best Banks Awards 2020 and 2021, in honor of its outstanding performance.

 4. GTCO: Guaranty Trust Holding Company PLC would pay its shareholders a total dividend of N88.293 billion, equating to N3.0 per 50kobo share, according to a document on the Nigerian Exchange Limited website. In the first half of the financial year, GTCO paid a 30 kobo interim dividend, and will now pay a final dividend of N2.70 per ordinary share of 50 kobo. GTCO paid a total dividend of N83.1 billion to shareholders in 2020, equating to N3.0 per share, compared to N81.01 billion in 2019, equating to N2.8 per share.

 5. Airtel Africa: For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, Airtel Africa Plc has approved a final dividend payment of $0.03 cents per ordinary share. Shareholders will be given the option of accepting payment in either British pounds or Nigerian naira. Shareholders must guarantee that their names are enrolled in the Register of Members June 23, 2022, according to the disclosure made with the Exchange (NGX). The $113 dividend payouts will be made to ordinary shareholders, whose names appear on the register, via e-dividend registration.