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Nigerian multimillionaire Victor Odili will earn a $11.5-million (N4.8 billion) dividend from his stake in Nigeria’s largest telecom operator, MTN Nigeria.
The telecom behemoth had an impressive year in 2020, as Internet adoption accelerated, pushing its revenue to a record high of $3.3 billion (N1.35 trillion), the highest ever recorded by a Nigerian listed entity.
However, the 14.7-percent growth in revenue, up from $2.8 billion (N1.17 trillion) in 2019, failed to boost the company’s profits significantly. Its earnings for 2020 were impacted by increased operating costs due to the rolling out of new sites and the impact of naira depreciation on the costs of its lease contracts.
This led MTN Nigeria’s board of directors to recommend a $0.014 (N5. 90) dividend per share on the company’s total 20,354,513,050 issued shares. This translates to a total dividend payout of $291 million (N120 billion) to its shareholders.
Odili is the chairman of Aeromaritime Group, which specializes in the maritime and oil and gas operations in Nigeria.
Odili retired as non-executive director of the leading telecom provider on Sept. 2, 2019. He holds a 3.96-percent stake, or 806,886,900 ordinary shares, in the company through Hermitage Overseas Corporation.
With MTN Nigeria’s shares priced at $0.40 (N165.00) per share, Odili’s equity position in the company is valued at $322.4 million (N133 billion).
His stake qualifies him to earn a dividend of $11.5 million (N4.8 billion).
