Michiel Le Roux, a South African billionaire businessman, is set to receive a dividend of R322.4 million ($22 million) from his stake in Capitec Bank after the leading South African retail bank reported a profit of R8.4 billion ($577 million) at the end of its fiscal year in 2022.
The 73-year-old businessman, who founded Capitec Bank, one of South Africa’s largest retail banks, owns a sizeable 11.41-percent stake in the leading banking group, giving him a “billionaire’s valuation” and making him one of the wealthiest businessmen in South Africa and on the African continent.
The $22-million dividend from his stake in the leading financial services group will be paid directly into his bank account on May 9 as part of the cash distribution approved by Capitec Bank’s board of directors in the aftermath of a strong financial performance in 2022.
As part of the cash distribution approved by the board of directors, the dividend will be paid directly from the group’s retained earnings of R29.56 billion ($2.02 billion).
Capitec Bank’s headline earnings, the primary profit measure for South African companies, increased by 84 percent in 2021 to R8.4 billion ($577 million) at the end of its fiscal year in 2022.
The increase in earnings was driven by a 17-percent increase in operating income from R23 billion ($1.58 billion) the previous year to R27 billion ($1.86 billion) at the end of the most recently completed fiscal period.
According to the most recent report, Capitec’s headline earnings have increased by 17 percent over the past five years despite incurring credit impairment in the millions of dollars.
As a result of its strong financial performance, the group’s total assets increased by 14 percent, from R156.5 billion ($10.76 billion) at the end of its fiscal year in 2021 to R179.4 billion ($12.33 billion) as of Feb. 28.
The strong financial performance led the board to declare a final gross dividend of R24.44 ($1.68) per share as a result of the year’s strong financial performance, bringing the total dividend for the 2022 fiscal year to R36.4 ($2.5) per share.
