Sep 4 (Lagos) - The Nigerian stock exchange posted a green day every day of this week even as stock markets around the globe saw massive sell-offs in all sectors.
Stocks like
ZENITHBANK and
GUARANTY were seen as the go to stocks by investors as second quarter results started rolling in and they threw some crumbs to investors in the form of interim dividends.
Zenith proposed interim dividend of 30 kobo per unit after posting Profit after tax of N 103 billion for the first 6 months of 2020. Dividend payout ratio is only 9%
GTB reported Profit after tax of N 94 billion for the first six months of 2020 and also proposed dividend of 30 kobo per unit. Dividend payout ratio is a lowly 9%
Those are dismal dividend payout ratios but that is the trend with big Nigerian banks over the years. They do give a dividend but it is just enough to keep investor interest going in the equity. Compare this with American banks and you will find dividend payout ratios way more than 50% as they really care about their shareholders and want to return most of the profit back to them instead of spending it on themselves.
Both of these banks could have given N 2.50 as interim dividend if they really wanted to reward their shareholders. That would have also seen their stock prices sky rocket in the market but they just could not find the courage to do so and part with shareholders money.
So it was a green week for the stock market and that is something everyone can be happy about. We do not get such weeks on a regular basis so this definitely felt like we went back in time by 6-7 years as the market shrug off recession fears and more important the possibility of a nationwide strike due to increase in petrol price.
reporting for easykobo.com on Friday, Sep 4 2020 from Lagos, Nigeria