Nestle Nigeria’s parent company to earn N32 billion in dividend from subsidiary

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.