Mike Adenuga, a Nigerian billionaire and telecom tycoon, is set to receive a N1.29-billion ($3.1 million) dividend from his stake in Conoil Plc after the petroleum marketing company reported a triple-digit percent increase in earnings.
Adenuga, the founder of Nigeria’s second-largest telecom services provider, Globacom Limited, owns 74.4 percent of Conoil through one of his companies, Conpetro Limited.
The $3.1-million dividend will be paid from the group’s retained earnings of N17.62 billion ($42.4 million) as part of the cash distribution approved by the board of directors.
According to the company’s announcement, his dividend, which will be paid along with the dividends of other shareholders, will be deposited into his account electronically on or after the company’s annual general meeting.
The payout is a 66.7-percent increase over the $1.86-million dividend that he received during the previous year.
Conoil’s impressive financial performance at the end of 2021, driven by an increase in demand for petroleum products during the year, can be attributed to the double-digit percentage increase in dividend payout.
At the end of 2021, Conoil posted a 114-percent increase in its profit from N1.44 billion ($3.46 million) in 2020 to N3.08 billion ($7.41 million) thanks to a combination of cost-cutting tactics used by management.
The triple-digit percent increase in earnings was supported by a 7.9-percent increase in revenue from N117.47 billion ($282.6 million) in 2020 to N126.73 billion (304.9 million), as the oil marketing firm was able to capitalize on the year’s increase in demand for petroleum products.
As a result of the strong performance, the Board of Directors approved a dividend to shareholders of N2.5 ($0.00601) per share, an increase from the N1.5 ($0.00361) dividend paid last year.