Michiel Le Roux to pocket $20.12 million in dividends from Capitec

Michiel Le Roux, a prominent South African billionaire businessman and co-founder of Capitec Bank, is poised to receive R369.32 million ($20.12 million) in dividends from his 11.41 percent stake in the Stellenbosch-based financial services provider.

The sizeable dividend payout represents a substantial portion of the R3.25 billion ($177.16 million) gross dividend proposed by Capitec Bank’s board of directors, pending approval by shareholders.

Under the leadership of Le Roux, Capitec Bank, renowned for its transactional banking and loan products, has become one of the world’s most esteemed retail banking brands since its establishment 20 years ago.

With 856 branches and 7,436 ATMs in South Africa, Capitec Bank boasts one of the largest customer bases in the country.

The $20.12-million dividend brings his total dividend earnings for the 2022 fiscal year to $30.2 million.

The payout includes an interim dividend of $10.2 million paid to the South African billionaire in the fourth quarter of 2022.

This dividend, which will be paid later this year from the group’s R9.7 billion ($531 million) profit, will partially offset the paper losses Le Roux has suffered from the slump in the value of his stake in Capitec Bank.

Capitec Bank’s shares have fallen by more than 14 percent since the beginning of the year, dropping from R1,858.57 ($101.29) on January 1 to R1,589.36 ($86.62) at the time of writing.

This decline has pushed the bank’s market capitalization on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange below $11 billion, contributing to a R3.55-billion ($193.52 million) drop in the market value of Le Roux’s 11.41-percent stake in the Stellenbosch-based financial services provider.

At the time of writing, Le Roux’s stake was worth R20.96 billion ($1.142 billion).