Nigerian gambling magnate Kessington Adebutu, daughter to pocket $2.4 million in Wema Bank dividends

Nigerian gambling magnate Kessington Adebutu and his daughter Abolanle Matel-Okoh are set to receive a dividend of N1 billion ($2.42 million) from their stake in Wema Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous banks, after the bank posted nearly double the earnings reported in 2020.

Wema Bank, in addition to being one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous banks, is pioneering Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, and is one of Nigeria’s most resilient banks with decades of experience in the financial services sector.

Adebutu, the founder and CEO of Premier Lotto Limited, Nigeria’s oldest and largest gaming company, will receive a dividend of N866.84 million ($2.08 million) from his 28.1-percent stake in Wema Bank, while his daughter will receive N140 million ($338,000) from her 4.5-percent stake.

Adebutu and his daughter are set to receive a $2.42-million dividend from their stake in the financial services company as part of a cash distribution approved by the board of directors. The dividend will be paid from the bank’s retained earnings of about N11.02 billion ($26.5 million).

According to Wema Bank’s corporate disclosure, the dividend, which will be paid alongside other shareholders’ payouts, will be paid electronically into their account on May 10, representing a 98.4-percent increase over the $1.22-million dividend they received last year.

The 98.4-percent increase in dividend payout can be attributed to Wema Bank’s impressive financial performance at the end of 2021, as it continues to leverage the sustained rebound across all of its operating segments to create value for its shareholders despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bank’s profit after tax nearly doubled from N4.58 billion ($11.01 billion) in 2020 to N8.93 billion ($21.5 million) at the end of 2021, thanks to an increase in gross earnings and a combination of revenue optimization and cost-cutting strategies implemented by management.

As a result of the strong financial performance, the Wema Bank board of directors declared a final dividend of N0.24 ($0.000577) per share on all its issued shares.