Total Nigeria Plc has declared a final dividend of N14 per 50 kobo ordinary share, amounting to N4.8 billion for the financial period ended Monday, December 31, 2018.
On Friday, June 23, 2019, the dividends will be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as at Thursday, April 18, 2019.
Only shareholders who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts will be paid.
While the Register of Shareholders will be closed from Tuesday, April 23, 2019, to Tuesday, April 29, 2019, Qualification Date has been scheduled for Thursday, April 18, 2019.
Understanding Dividend
A dividend is a payment made by a company to its shareholders, usually as a distribution of profits. When a company earns a profit or surplus, it reinvests a portion of the profit in the business (retained earnings) whilst paying a portion as dividends to the shareholders.
Distribution to shareholders may be in cash (usually a deposit into a bank account) or the issuance of further shares, otherwise known as shares repurchase. But this is usually if the company has a dividend reinvestment plan.
In other words, a dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share with shareholders receiving a dividend in proportion to their shareholding. For the joint-stock company, paying dividends is not an expense; rather, it is the division of after-tax profits among shareholders.
Laudable financial performance?
Total Nigeria Plc recorded revenue of N307 billion in the 2018 financial period as against N288 billion in 2017.
Profit before tax stood at N12 billion in 2018 as against N11.8 billion in 2017, while profit for the year stood at N7.9 billion in 2018 as against N8 billion in 2017.
About Total Nigeria Plc
Total Nigeria Plc distributes and markets refined petroleum products and fuels. The company further sells LPG and operates lubricant blending plants in Nigeria.
The company’s stock is currently trading N182 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).