• Sunday, December 22, 2024
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Aradel to pay N34.8bn interim dividend less than a month after listing

Africa Capital Alliance sells off N19.8bn Aradel shares to boost liquidity

In nine months in 2024, Aradel Holdings posted a net profit of N110.6 billion, marking a 477 percent year-on-year growth, from the N19.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2023. Hence, the dividend distributed for the period represents a dividend payout ratio of 31 percent.

The proposed interim dividend for 9M 2024 is 433 percent higher than the N6.5 billion interim dividend distributed by the group in 2023.

In the financial year 2023, Aradel paid a total dividend of N43.4 billion, representing an interim dividend of N30 per share and a final dividend of N170 per share for its 217.2 million ordinary shares of N10 each.

On October 14, Aradel Holdings Plc was introduced to the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) at a share price of N702.69. However, the stock’s share price has declined by 28.8 percent since then. It is currently trading at a share price of N550.1.

The other upstream oil companies listed on the NGX – Seplat Energy and Oando Plc – have also been quite active this year. Seplat Energy posted a net profit of N52.8 billion for 9M 2024, as it recorded a N15.3 billion loss in the third quarter of the year.

The only company to do so in Nigeria, Seplat pays an interim dividend every quarter of the year. This amount was formerly fixed at 3 US Cents, however, for Q3 2024, the company is proposing an interim dividend of 3.6 US Cents.

Year-to-date, Seplat has appreciated by 147 percent, with its share price hitting N5,700 per share, by far the NGX’s most expensive share.

Oando Plc, currently the second-highest gainer on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) this year, has been suspended from trading on the exchange following non-compliance with regulatory deadlines for filing audited financial statements. The company has not yet submitted its audited results for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.

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