South African billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer to pocket $2.37 million in IDH dividends

Nicky Oppenheimer, a South African billionaire, is scheduled to collect EGP43.87 million ($2.37 million) in dividends from his stock in Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH) after the Egyptian healthcare services firm recorded 145 percent at the end of 2021.

Oppenheimer, one of Africa’s wealthiest individuals and South Africa’s second-richest man, has a large 3.37-percent stake in IDH, a consumer healthcare firm with active activities in the Middle East and Africa via subsidiaries in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria.

The South African billionaire’s $2.37-million dividend from his share in the Egyptian consumer healthcare firm would be paid from the EGP1.3 billion ($70 million) dividend distribution approved by IDH’s board of directors.

This comes as the healthcare group posted a 145-percent growth in earnings from EGP609 million ($32.8 million) at the end of 2020 to EGP1.49 billion ($80.2 million), driven by a sales increase from EGP2.66 billion ($143.2 million) to EGP5.1 billion ($274.5 million).

The surge in revenue was driven by a combination of factors, with total tests performed increasing by 24 percent year-on-year and the average price per test increasing by 53 percent compared to 2020.

The group’s net sales were boosted throughout the year by high demand for IDH’s COVID-19-related and traditional testing portfolios, which accounted for 51 percent and 49 percent of consolidated net sales, respectively.

Nicky Oppenheimer, one of Africa’s wealthiest businesspeople and South Africa’s second-richest billionaire after Johann Rupert, has seen his net worth increase by more than $675 million since the beginning of the year, from $7.95 billion to $8.63 billion.

The surge in his net worth can be linked to an increase in the value of his private equity investments in Africa, Asia, the United States and Europe through London-based Stockdale Street and Johannesburg-based Tana Africa Capital.