Abdul Samad Rabiu pockets N189bn BUA Cement dividend

The deep concentration of ownership in Nigeria’s heavy industries has yielded another historic corporate payday. Abdul Samad Rabiu, the billionaire chairman of BUA Cement Plc, took home a staggering N189.74 billion from his personal stake in the manufacturing giant following shareholder approval of the company’s financial rewards for the year ended December 2025.

As Nigeria’s second-richest man, Rabiu directly controls 18.974 billion units, or 56.03 percent, of BUA Cement’s 33.864 billion outstanding shares. Following the company’s gross distribution of a final dividend of N10 per ordinary share on May 21, Rabiu’s direct payout accounted for more than half of the total N338.64 billion distributed to shareholders.

Beyond this immense personal windfall, Rabiu’s ultimate economic interest in the cement maker is tied to an intricate web of indirect holdings. These include 637.403 million units held through Damnaz Cement Company Limited, 13.462 billion units via BUA Industries Limited, and another 8.137 million units through BUA International Limited. Yet, the company maintains a healthy free float value of N139.960 billion, ensuring it easily satisfies the listing requirements for the Main Board of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

This multi-billion-naira earnings surge is the direct result of explosive top-line growth and a highly aggressive corporate payout strategy. BUA Cement successfully translated a sharp operational rebound into massive liquidity for its backers.

For the first time in its corporate history, BUA Cement’s revenue crossed the trillion-naira threshold, climbing 34.5 percent from N876.47 billion in 2024 to hit an unprecedented N1.179 trillion in 2025. The real triumph, however, materialised on the bottom line. The company’s profit after tax skyrocketed by 381.7 percent, surging to N356.038 billion from the N73.909 billion recorded during the 2024 fiscal year. This dramatic earnings recovery effectively cements Rabiu’s status as one of the financially formidable corporate leaders on the African continent.
Since profits hit N356 billion against 33.86 billion shares, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) landed perfectly at N10. By declaring a N10 dividend out of N10 in earnings per share, BUA Cement opted for an aggressive 95.1 percent payout ratio from its total N356 billion profit pool.

BUA Cement Plc closed the trading year 2025 at N163.70 per share. The stock began the year 2025 trading at N93 and wrapped up the year at N163.70. This price movement in 2025 represented an impressive 76.02 percent capital appreciation over the 12-month period.

Further tracking the stock’s more recent momentum shows that the growth spilt over aggressively into the first half (H1) of 2026, with the stock re-rating on the back of explosive first-quarter (Q1) earnings to hit an all-time 52-week high of N460 in mid-May 2026.

This strong upward trajectory was a direct reflection of investor confidence building throughout the year 2025, fueled by BUA’s revenue crossing the N1 trillion milestone and the anticipation of that massive N10 per share dividend payout.

Instead of hoarding the cash for capital reserves, the board relied on expanding production capacity (aiming for 23 million tonnes) and upcoming operational cost-cutters—like the 2026 BUA LNG project—to fuel future growth, allowing them to pass almost every kobo of 2025’s net profit directly back to equity investors. The BUA LNG project is a central pillar of BUA Group’s strategy to insulate its heavy manufacturing operations—particularly BUA Cement—from Nigeria’s volatile energy grid and the high cost of diesel and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).

At N378 per share on Friday, June 5, the stock offers another re-entry opportunity for investors. This puts the company’s equity capitalisation at N12.8trillion. This N12.8 trillion market cap firmly solidifies BUA Cement’s status as a dominant “SWOOT” (Stocks Worth Over One Trillion) heavyweight on the Nigerian Exchange, trailing only Dangote Cement in the industrial goods sector. Abdul Samad Rabiu’s 18.974 billion direct equity holding in BUA Cement currently translates to N7.17trillion in value.