Nigerian energy magnates Bryant Orjiako, Austin Avuru to pocket $2.15 million in Seplat dividends

Following a $2.15-million dividend earlier this year, Nigerian energy magnates Ambrosie Bryant Orjiako and Austin Avuru are soon to make bank once again as the leading energy business Seplat Energy revealed plans to reward shareholders with an interim dividend payment.

According to data obtained by Billionaires.Africa, Orjiako, and Avuru, who both played crucial roles in the formation of Seplat Energy in 2009 and its expansion in the Nigerian energy industry, own a significant 6.43-percent and 8.2-percent stake in the energy firm, respectively.

The energy magnates are set to pocket a combined $2.15 million in interim dividends as a result of their shares in the firm in line with an interim dividend of $0.025 per share announced by the board of directors.

The interim dividend, which will be transferred electronically into shareholders’ bank accounts on Aug. 15, will net Orjiako and Avuru $945,463 and $1,206,204 from their equity shares, respectively bringing their combined total dividend this year to $4.3 million.

The dividend payment is tied to the company’s recent financial performance, as it has been able to leverage the rise in energy prices to build wealth for shareholders as earnings continue to climb after exiting an $85.3-million loss in 2020.

Seplat’s profit rose by 41 percent in the first half of 2022, from $56.57 million in the first half of 2021 to $79.8 million, driven by a 70.7-percent increase in revenue from $308.8 million to $527 million.

The group’s profit before tax rose by 238 percent to $209.9 million from $62.1 million in the first half of 2021, while an income tax expense of $126.6 million, which included a current tax charge of $36.4 million and a deferred tax charge of $90.2 million, significantly weighed on its earnings.

The unwinding of previously unutilized capital allowances, as well as fluctuations in underlift and overlift in the current year, influenced the deferred tax charge.