By InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- Leading and only listed share registration service provider in on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Africa Prudential Registrars Plc (AFRIPUD) on Monday said it has increased its dividend payment to 60 kobo per share as it has  proposed a final dividend 43 Kobo per share to the delight of its shareholders.

“This final dividend rounds up to sixty (60) Kobo total dividend for 2015 financial year, having paid an interim dividend of seventeen (17) Kobo on August 31, 2015 after releasing its half year financial results,” the company said in an emailed statement.

The company’s audited results for 2015 which was released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week shows a total of N1.2 billion will be paid to ordinary shareholders of the company if the proposed final dividend of 43 Kobo per share is ratified at the coming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders.

AFRIPUD said If ratified by shareholders at the AGM, payment of the dividend will be made on April 13, 2016 to all shareholders on the register of members of the company as at the qualifying date of March 22, 2016.

It added that the Register of Members and Transfer Books of the Company would be closed from Wednesday, March 23 to Tuesday March 29, 2016 (both dates inclusive) for the purpose of updating Register of Members eligible for the dividend payment.

A review of the company’s 2015 audited year end shows the company recorded N2.54 billion gross earnings, representing a 15 percent growth from N2.20 billion in 2014.

Similarly, profit before tax (PBT) for the period grew by 25 percent from N1.3 billion in 2014 to N1.6 billion in 2015. By the performance, expense only grew by a marginal one (1) percent from N904 million to N913 million in the review period. In a similar trend, basic earnings per share grew by 18 percent from 61 Kobo to 72 Kobo.

Peter Ashade, managing director/CEO of the company affirmed that AFRIPUD is focused on increasing shareholders wealth. In line with its five-year strategic plan, the company has paid dividend consistently for three (3) years, following its listing on the NSE in 2013. 35 Kobo per share dividend was paid in 2013 and 2014 financial years respectively, while a total of 60 Kobo is being proposed for 2015, having recorded another impressive result.

While Ashade further encouraged investors to keep hope with the company as it sustains the tempo of impressive growth in the years to come, it would be recalled that the company won a double award at the prestigious Pearl Awards in 2015. The company was announced winner and presented with the Best Profit Margin Ratio, and Best Corporate Governance Awards.

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Africa Prudential Registrars Plc says it plans to pay its shareholders a dividend of 35 kobo per share for the 2013 financial year.

The company disclosed the plan in a statement made available to our correspondent on Monday.

The company, which listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in January 2013, said the dividend would be paid after the proposal must have been ratified by the company’s shareholders.

The statement read in part, “The proposed dividend payment attests to the company’s determination to add value to shareholders, and ensure increment in shareholders’ wealth.

“These returns are also a product of the improved financial performance of the company, released to the NSE on Monday, February 17, 2014.”

Africa Prudential Registrars’ audited financial statement for 2013 showed that the company’s revenue rose from N1.034bn in 2012 to N1.854bn in 2013.

The company, one of the leading registrars in the country, also saw its profit before tax rise from N667m to N1.212bn, while its profit after tax climbed to N914m in 2013, up from N561m.

To ensure that the dividend payment process is seamless, the company said its register of members would be closed between March 17 and March 21.

“The qualifying date is March 14, 2014. This presupposes that all shareholders on the register of members as of 14 March shall be eligible for the 35 kobo dividend,” the firm added.

The company had explained that the ‘impressive financial results’ demonstrated that it was already benefiting from some of its ‘strategic corporate engagements’ such as the acquisition of the UAC Registrars Limited, the oldest non-bank affiliated registrar in Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Peter Ashade, had said at the time the company acquired the UAC Registrars that “by focusing on innovative, technology-led share registration services and high client touch, this transaction will reduce operating expenses, overall profitability and improve shareholder experience.”

Last year, the APR successfully concluded a one billion right offer. The offer, which opened on October 8, 2013 and closed on November 15, 2013, had been oversubscribed as it recorded a subscription level of 245 per cent.

Source: Punch (by Simon Ejembi)

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