Airtel Africa Set to Pay Dividends to Shareholders, Pegs Exchange Rate at N885 Per Dollar
- Airtel Africa has unveiled an N858 exchange rate for its half-year interim dividend
- The telecom giant has scheduled the payment of the interim dividend for December 15, 2023
- Shareholders can choose to receive it in dollars, pounds, or naira, based on their preference
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the stock market.
Airtel Africa Plc has disclosed its intention to distribute the interim dividend for the six-month period concluding in September 2023 to its shareholders.
The payment will be made in naira, calculated at the exchange rate of N858.24 per dollar, as outlined in the corporate notice titled "Announcement of Interim Dividend Currency Exchange Rates," submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
Source: UGC
Airtel recently became the most valuable company on the Nigerian stock market again. This title had been lost for more than six months before it was regained.
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Interim dividend exchange rate locked at N858/$
Airtel Africa, dual-listed on the NGX and the London Stock Exchange, has scheduled the interim dividend payment, amounting to 2.38 US cents per ordinary share, for December 15, 2023, directed towards eligible shareholders.
Shareholders can choose to receive the dividend in US dollars, GB pounds, or Nigerian naira based on their preference.
The exchange rates are 1 USD = 858.24 Nigerian naira and 1 USD = 0.8190 GB pounds.
The telco mentioned that the exchange rates for the Nigerian naira or GB pounds were determined by the rates applicable to the US dollar as of the previous Friday.
Recently, Legit.ng reported that Indian Continent Investment Limited, a Mauritius-based company, increased its ownership in Airtel Africa by buying shares worth £57.25 million.
Highlights of Airtel's half-year financial performance
In the half-year report, the group experienced a loss of $13 million. This loss was mainly due to a foreign exchange loss of $471 million in finance costs.
At the end of the reviewed period, Airtel Africa's revenue increased by 19.7% to $2.62 billion. However, the devaluation of Nigeria's currency affected the reported revenue growth.
Despite this, all segments showed double-digit revenue growth. Mobile services revenue increased by 18.3%, driven by a voice revenue increase of 11.5% and a data revenue increase of 28.1%.
Mobile money revenue also saw significant growth, rising by 30.9%. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) increased by 21.2%, reaching $1.30 billion.
The EBITDA margin was 49.6%, showing a 70 basis points improvement over the previous period, despite facing inflationary cost pressures and foreign exchange challenges.
Airtel CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya rakes in N739.5 million share sales
In related news, Legit.ng reported that Airtel Africa informed the public about the CEO, Olusegun Ogunsanya, selling some of the company's ordinary shares.
On August 4, 2023, during the London Exchange session, Ogunsanya sold approximately 666,174.760 units at a rate of 1.137 pounds per share, totalling 757,449.70 pounds or N739,579,564.8.
After this sale, Mr Ogunsanya has 4,325,282 Ordinary Shares in Airtel Africa.
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Source: Legit.ng
