Nigerian polyurethane tycoon Samuel Bolarinde has seen his wealth increase by N5 billion ($12.1 million) since the start of the year.
The share price of Bolarinde’s Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has surged following investors’ reactions to an increase in its earnings accounts.
The multimillionaire, who was worth N4.5billion ($11 million) on Dec. 31, 2020, is presently worth N9.5 billion ($23.1 million) on account of triple-digit growth in the value of his 11.87-percent stake in Nigeria’s foremost manufacturer of premium foam products.
Since January, Vitafoam Nigeria’s shares have been on the rise, as investors responded to a 119-percent increase in 2020 profits and a dividend of N875.6 million ($2.1 billion) paid to shareholders during the year.
Compared to the previous year’s dividend, a payment of N0.70 ($0.001702) per share made to shareholders as the final dividend for 2020 was 67-percent higher than the final dividend of N0.42 ($0.001021) per share that shareholders received in 2019.
Investor buying interest spurred by a 59-percent increase in profit in the nine months of its 2021 financial year played a crucial role in sustaining upward price movements since the start of the year.
As of press time, 11:58 AM (UTC), Aug. 30, Vitafoam shares on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange were trading at N16.45 ($0.03999), 30-basis points higher than its opening price this morning.
According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, the company’s shares have more than doubled in value compared with their market opening price of N7.80 ($0.01896) per share on Jan. 4.
Like many investors who have seen their wealth increase by nearly 111 percent, Samuel Bolarinde, who owns 578 million shares in Vitafoam, has seen the market value of his stake increase by N5 billion ($12.1 million) since the year start of the year.
Vitafoam is Nigeria’s leading manufacturer of rigid and flexible foam products. It operates a massive foam manufacturing and distribution network, facilitating just-in-time delivery of finished products throughout West Africa.
Bolarinde led the company’s board between 2002 and 2013 after retiring as managing director and CEO in March 2002.
The company has seen its nine-month earnings surge from N1.1 billion ($2.7 million) in 2019 to N3.5 billion ($8.5 million) in 2021.
Its assets and liabilities have also increased from N12.8 billion ($31.1 million) and N8 billion ($19.4 million) in June 2019 to N27.2 billion ($66.1 million) and N15.6 billion ($37.9 million) in 2021, respectively.
