John Coumanataros to earn $10.43 million in dividends as Flour Mills of Nigeria announces dividend payout

The board of directors of Nigeria’s largest flour miller, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, has declared a dividend of $16.44 million payable to shareholders on Sept. 9.

According to a corporate announcement issued on the website of the Nigerian Exchange on Aug. 10, the food and agro-allied group revealed that it will pay a final dividend of N1.65 ($0.0040) per share on all of its 4.1 billion issued shares.

This translates to a total dividend pay-out of N6.77 billion ($16.44 million) and a dividend yield of 5.55 percent of its share price of N29.75 ($0.07228).

Coumanataros, the chairman of Flour Mills, who owns a majority 63.34-percent stake in the group, is expected to pocket a dividend of N4.29 billion ($10.43 million) from his equity position.

Flour Mills of Nigeria is the biggest flour miller in Nigeria, and one of the largest food and agro-allied groups in the country.

Its operations can be categorized into four major sectors, including food, sugar, agro-allied and support services.

At the end of its 2020-2021 financial year, it posted a profit of N25.7 billion ($62.44 million), 127-percent higher than its profit of N11.4 billion ($27.69 million) in the 2019-2020 financial year.

This came on the back of growth in its top-line across all business segments.

The group’s revenue and profits were aided by gains from its agro-allied business, which benefited from a turnaround strategy in its backward integration program and strategic partnerships with smallholder farmers.

Meanwhile, its food business grew organically driven by a surge in demand and product innovation and transformation into new markets.

It noted that its strong performance in the year was delivered by operational efficiency through route-to-market investments and rapid expansion in the business-to-consumers sectors.

As of press time 9:00 AM (UTC), Aug. 11, shares in the group were trading at N29.75 ($0.07228), 14.45-percent higher than its opening price for the year.

The company’s market capitalization on the Nigerian Exchange as of the drafting of this report is N119.73 billion ($290.92 million).