The parent company of Nestlé Nigeria Plc, Nestlé S.A, is set to earn a whopping sum of N32 billion in dividend for the financial year ended December 2020.

The multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Switzerland is the single majority shareholder of Nestlé Nigeria Plc, with 527,080,970 units of the total issued shares of its subsidiary.

This puts the ownership stake of the Swiss multinational at 66.5%, ahead of Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited with 6.28% ownership stake.

Recall that the Board of Directors of Nestlé Nigeria in a statement released via the Nigerian Stock Exchange proposed a final dividend of N35.5 per share. This puts the total dividend payout of the company at N60.5 per share for the financial year 2020 (interim: N25.0).

When converted to dollars, the dividend amounts to about $78 million based on an exchange rate of N410/$1.

This proposal reflects the resilience of Nestlé despite the disruption occasioned by the pandemic. As the FMCG company was able to maintain its tradition of dividend payment to shareholders in 2020, despite taking a major shock in its profit during the year (-14%).

• Nestlé delivered a consistent result in terms of revenue, amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which disrupted supply chains globally.
• The revenue of the FMCG company increased by 1% in 2020 (N287 billion), compared to FY’19 figures (N284 billion).
• However, the increase in the prices of materials, foreign exchange restrictions, and a spike in finance costs placed pressure on the company’s profitability in 2020.
• At the back of these pressures, Nestlé’s PAT declined by 14% in 2020 (N39.2 billion) compared to FY’19 figures (N45.7 billion).

What you should know

Nestlé S.A is one of the largest food companies in the world in terms of revenue. The Switzerland-based consumer goods behemoth is the parent company of Nestlé Nigeria PLC – a leading food and beverage company in Africa.

Nestlé has grown its operation in Nigeria, as well as its presence in the Central and West Africa region over the years.
Its factory in Nigeria has grown from one – with the establishment of the Agbara Manufacturing Complex which commenced operation in 1981 – to three in recent times, following the inauguration of the Flowergate factory, a factory initially dedicated to the production of MAGGI products, and the set-up of the Abaji factory complex in 2016.

Nigeria’s all-share index fell further at the close of trading today, down by -0.40% to 39,364.67 points. Investors losses today stood at N82.35 billion.

• Year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at -2.26% and N20.5 trillion, respectively.
• Investor sentiment as measured by the market breadth closed negative with 12 advancers and 47 decliners.
• Across coverage sectors, the performance was bearish. The NSE insurance, banking, consumer goods, and oil & gas sectors dipped 4.04%, 1.54%, 1.47%, 64 basis points, and 0.65%, respectively.
• The flip side saw only the industrials improved marginally by 0.19%.

Top gainers

1. UPL up 9.91% to close at N1.22
2. MORISON up 9.09% to close at N0.6
3. CAP up 5.26% to close at N20
4. WAPCO up 3.59% to close at N20.2
5. LIVESTOCK up 3.17% to close at N2.28

Top losers

1. FIDSON down 10.00% to close at N4.41
2. NNFM down 9.97% to close at N6.32
3. ENAMELWA down 9.95% to close at N19.9
4. NEM down 9.95% to close at N1.72
5. NCR down 9.91% to close at N3.09

Outlook

Nigerian stocks ended the fourth trading session on a weaker note amid soaring oil prices prevailing at the U.S trading session.

• Today’s bearish trading session was inclined by sell pressure on consumer ticker, DANGSUGAR which lost -6.25%. JBERGER, ARDOVA, and UBA also declined by -7.88%, 9.85%, and -3.64%, respectively.
• Nairametrics expects intending buyers to seek the advice of certified stockbrokers.