Zenith Bank has postponed the date for the payout of its 30 kobo interim dividend from the proposed date of 2nd September 2019, to Wednesday 4th September 2019.
This statement is contained in a notification sent by the bank to the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
Reason for the postponement: According to the bank, the date was pushed forward to ensure that all transactions executed on the qualification date of 29th August 2019 are settled and to determine the number of eligible shareholders.
The statement read, “Further to the publication of the Audited Financial Statement of Zenith Bank Plc for the half-year ended 30 June 2019 on 19 August 2019, whereby the Board of Directors declared an interim dividend of 30 kobo per share with a closure of register date of 30 August 2019 and payment of 2 September 2019, the bank wishes to notify the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investing public that the payment date for the dividend has been changed to Wednesday, 4 September 2019.”
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The backstory: Zenith Bank Plc declared an interim dividend of 30 kobo per 50 kobo ordinary share to be paid on Monday, September 2, 2019, to the shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as at the close of business on the 29th of August, 2019, according to a Nairametrics report.
Financial results: The company’s gross earnings went from N322.2 billion in 2018 to N331.6 billion in 2019.
- The bank’s Profit Before Tax stood at N111.7 billion on 30th of June 2019 as against N107.4 billion recorded in the same period in 2018.
- Profit After Tax stood at N88.9 billion in 2019 as against N81.7 billion recorded in the same period in 2018.
- Total assets stood at N5.8 trillion in 2019 compared to N5.9 trillion in 2018.
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.
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Distribution to shareholders may be in cash (usually a deposit into their bank accounts) or the issuance of further shares, otherwise known as shares repurchase. But this is usually done 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 shareholdings. For the joint-stock company, paying dividends is not an expense, rather, it is the division of after-tax profits among shareholders.