The Treasury’s share of dividends went down 21.9 percent. FILE PHOTO | NMG The National Treasury’s share of dividends from its ownership of Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed companies has dipped 21.9 percent to Sh22.13 billion in latest payouts in the absence of special dividend from Safaricom and as most State-owned firms posted a dip in earnings.
Only three out of the 11 publicly listed firms in which government owns a stake declared dividends as other key firms such as Kenya Power , Mumias Sugar and Uchumi extended dividend drought on the back of worsening performance.
Ownership of ordinary shares in public listed companies is supposed to earn the government billions of shillings in dividends but the dip in fortunes raises questions on continued bailouts in firms such as Kenya Airways in which the State has a 48.9 percent stake.
The bulk of the dividends came from Safaricom, in which the government is going to make Sh19.63 billion or 88.7 percent of what it will receive from listed firms in which it holds a stake.
The government owns 35 percent stake in the giant telco.
Safaricom board recommended Sh1.40 per share normal dividend to be paid on or before November 1.
Total payout will amount to Sh56.09 billion.
The payout is, however, a drop from the previous financial year in which the government made Sh26.22 billion given that the telco declared Sh1.25 normal dividend and Sh0.62 per share special dividend amounting to Sh50.08 billion and Sh24.84 billion respectively.
Other firms in which the government will earn a dividend are KCB (Sh2.19 billion) and Stanbic Bank (Sh30.66 million).
Government stake in KCB Group moved from 17.53 percent to 19.76 percent.
This is after KCB acquired National Bank of Kenya, in which government had a stake.The deal helped its dividend cheque to jump from Sh1.88 billion it received the previous year.KCB has already paid interim dividend of Sh1 per share and shareholders are this Thursday expected to endorse final payout of Sh2.5 per share.Dividend payout due to government in Stanbic Bank is set to jump from Sh25.22 million to Sh30.66 million after the lender’s total payout jumped from Sh5.80 per share to Sh7.05 per share. The State has 1.1 percent stake.However, there will be no payouts from firms such as Kenya Electricity Generating Company (70 percent) and Kenya Power where it holds 50.086 percent stake.Other firms where the government has stake but will pocket zero payouts include Kenya Airways (48.9 percent), East […]