When listed companies go silent on dividends, investors end up holding dead money
Forty-five out of the 146 companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) have not paid dividends in at least five years.
That means roughly one in every three quoted firms has withheld cash rewards from shareholders over that period, according to a Nairametrics analysis.
Dividends are the portion of a company’s profit distributed to shareholders, serving as one of the few reliable ways investors can earn a steady stream of income from the stock market.
Regular payments are also a marker of financial strength, since they are drawn from either current profits or retained earnings, and signal management’s commitment to rewarding shareholders.
For income-focused investors, a company’s dividend history is often as important as its growth prospects.
Still, a decision not to pay dividends does not always mean a company is in distress. Growth-stage firms, for example, tend to reinvest profits into expansion or acquisitions rather than distribute them as cash.
The non-dividend companies
The companies that have not paid dividends cut across various sectors, from consumer goods to ICT, industrial goods, and healthcare.
In the Consumer Goods sector, laggards include DN Tyre & Rubber, Golden Guinea Breweries, Multi-Trex Integrated Foods, Union Dicon, Nigerian Enamelware, and International Breweries.
From the Insurance sector, Royal Exchange, African Alliance Insurance, Regency Assurance, Staco Insurance, and Universal Insurance have not paid dividends in at least five years.
The Microfinance Banks sub-sector has Aso Savings and Loans, while Deap Capital Management & Trust sits under Other Financial Institutions.
Secure Electronics (formerly National Sports Lottery) has never paid dividends since 2008.
The Healthcare sector includes Ekocorp, Morison Industries, and Pharma-Deko.
In ICT, Omatek Ventures, NCR Nigeria, Chams Holding Company, and e-Tranzact International feature prominently.
Within Industrial Goods, Premier Paints, Austin Laz & Company, and Greif Nigeria Plc have gone dividend-dry, while in the Natural Resources sector, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria has not paid dividends since 2007.
Why it matters
John Udoh, a broker at Arthur Steven Asset Management, told Nairametrics that investors should study these companies to understand why dividends are not being paid.
“No one will be happy to have an investment that does not yield dividends. Companies that do not pay are not encouraging their shareholders,” Udoh said.
A review of financial statements shows that many of these firms have struggled to remain profitable suggesting losses as a reason for shelving payouts
Just a few of the 45 non-dividend-paying companies have posted profits over the past five years.
Even among those that managed to turn a profit, earnings have been too inconsistent and low to sustain dividend payments.
Curiously, some of these “silent stocks” have seen sharp price rallies this year. Companies such as Ellah Lakes, FTN Cocoa, Chellarams, SCOA, Royal Exchange, International Breweries, NCR, International Energy Insurance, Omatek, and Nigerian Enamelware Plc have posted triple-digit year-to-date gains despite their dividend drought.
Ellah Lakes, for instance, has posted consistent losses over the period, highlighting how persistent unprofitability often underpins dividend droughts.
FTN Cocoa tells a similar story. The company has not paid dividends in five years, weighed down by recurring losses of N10.65 billion in 2023 and N9.53 billion in 2024. Though H1 2025 showed an 89% YoY improvement with losses narrowing to N1.1 billion, dividends remain unlikely until sustained profitability returns.
International Breweries has also skipped dividends for five years, dragged down by a N113 billion loss in 2023. But the losses narrowed sharply to N6 billion in 2024, and by H1 2025 it posted a N29.4 billion profit. The big question now is whether this turnaround will translate into dividends.
John Holt Plc has managed profits only twice in the last five years, in 2022 and 2024, but has still paid no dividends. Its rebound was short-lived, as it slipped back into losses in H1 2024, leaving investors stuck in a cycle of hope without reward.
SCOA, meanwhile, has posted profits three times in five years but also withheld dividends. In H1 2025, it recorded N342 million in profit, already surpassing its 2024 full-year profit of N229 million. Yet, despite the lack of payouts, its stock has still gained 167% year-to-date.
Daar Communications has never paid dividends since listing in 2008 and has been reporting losses consistently since at least 2013.
Royal Exchange Insurance in 2006, Staco in 2008, and Morrisons in 2009. Ekocorp, International Energy Insurance (IEI), and Omatek have not paid dividends since 2011, while Chellarams, Ellah Lakes, NCR, RT Briscoe, Tantalisers, and Vanleer (formerly Greif) have all been silent since 2012.
Analysts note that the persistence of silent stocks on the NGX underscores a deeper challenge for investors: the disconnect between share price rallies and shareholder rewards. They argue that while some firms post impressive market gains, their failure to declare dividends questions the sustainability of such value creation.
For investors, the lesson is clear: price appreciation without underlying profitability or cash distribution can be a hollow win. Until more companies commit to sustainable profits and consistent payouts, the dividend drought will remain a thorn in the side of NGX shareholders
Re companies not paying dividends: are their directors receiving their allowances or not?
The law should be amended to make the cash draught start from the top
Dear Idika,
Trust you are doing great and thanks for this exercise and would very much appreciate you go a step further on delisted companies that have equally remained silent. Nigerian shareholders are really suffering in silence while the regulators remain very indifferent. For instance, EVANS MEDICAL had been delisted over time without a single word from either the Company or its Registrars to the investing public. It can only happen in Nigeria, and that’s just one out of several others.
Blessings!!!
Good piece and worth my reading time.
While there have been no dividends from these companies, are their top management teams still getting remunerations/fees?
And, how faithful are their corporate reporting?
You do further analysis on these two begging questions.
Impressive analyses.