Seventeen companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) have paid/proposed dividends totalling N1.13 trillion in the first half of 2026, BusinessDay analysis has disclosed.
Data compiled from the companies’ interim dividend distributions and first-half profit after tax shows that the combined payout of N1.128 trillion represented 45.3 percent of their aggregate profit after tax of N2.49 trillion.
An interim dividend is a cash or stock payment made by a company to its shareholders before its full-year financial results are finalised. It is declared and paid during the middle of the financial year, usually based on half-year or quarterly profits.
The firms analysed include MTN Nigeria, HBM Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Zenith Bank, GTCO, Unilever Nigeria, Presco Plc, Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), NGX Group, United Capital, Guinness Nigeria, Custodian Investment, Transcorp Hotels, The Initiates Plc, UPDC REIT, Ikeja Hotel, and Seplat Energy.
MTN Nigeria accounted for the largest distribution, at N545.89 billion, followed by HBM Nigeria at N257.72 billion. Together, the two companies accounted for N803.61 billion, or approximately 71.2 percent of the total amount recorded across the 17 firms.
An equity research analyst could argue that the low number of dividend-paying companies reflects the uneven capacity of listed businesses to generate distributable earnings and maintain consistent cash returns.
“The key question is not simply how many companies pay dividends, but how many can sustain them from recurring earnings and operating cash flow. Investors need to distinguish between companies distributing a portion of recurring profits and those relying on accumulated reserves to support exceptional payouts,” the analyst said.
Two companies dominate dividend distributions
MTN Nigeria’s N545.89 billion distribution alone represented approximately 48.4 percent of the total recorded across the 17 companies. Its payout was equivalent to 77.2 percent of its N707.54 billion first-half profit after tax.
The scale of the telecoms operator’s distribution sets it apart from most other companies in the sample. Its reported payout ratio leaves approximately 22.8 percent of first-half profit undistributed, based on the supplied figures.
HBM Nigeria’s N257.72 billion distribution was equivalent to 123.7 percent of its N208.35 billion profit after tax. Its dividend per share increased to N16 from N4 in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a fourfold increase.
A payout above profit has to be funded from reserves or cash built up in earlier periods, so it cannot continue indefinitely without a matching earnings recovery. HBM is the case that matters most, because its payment is a current-period interim rather than a prior-year final.
Seplat Energy ranked third at N97.95 billion, followed by Stanbic IBTC at N71.56 billion, and Zenith Bank at N61.6 billion.
Banks maintain distributions as earnings support payouts
Banks featured prominently among the companies returning cash to shareholders, although their payout ratios varied.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc paid N71.56 billion in the period, representing 29.9 percent of its N239.68 billion profit after tax. Its dividend per share rose to N4.50 from N2.50 in the corresponding period of 2025.
Zenith Bank Plc recorded a dividend payout of N61.6 billion against a profit after tax of N430.76 billion. Its payout ratio stood at 14.3 percent, while its dividend per share increased to N1.50 from N1.25.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc paid N36.55 billion, equivalent to 8.8 percent of its N414.19 billion profit after tax. Its dividend per share remained unchanged at N1.
Low ratios at large banks are consistent with capital retention as lenders manage the post-recapitalisation capital regime and growth in risk assets.
Who raised, who held, who cut
Out of the 17 firms, nine raised their dividend per-share payout against the comparable period: MTN Nigeria, HBM Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC, Zenith Bank, Presco, NGX Group, Guinness Nigeria, UPDC REIT, and The Initiates. The Initiates moved from nil to 20 kobo. Six held their dividends flat: GTCO, Transcorp, United Capital, Custodian Investment, Transcorp Hotels, and Ikeja Hotel.
One company cut. Unilever Nigeria lowered its dividend to N2.00 from N3.25, a reduction of 38.5 percent. The company paid N11.49 billion on profit of N15.60 billion, a ratio of 73.7 percent. A cut at a high payout ratio suggests limited headroom, and the firm sits close to MTN Nigeria at the top of the ratio table among operating companies that did not exceed profit.
While Seplat paid 12 cents (N163.27) declaring a five-cent interim dividend alongside a seven-cent special dividend.
The retention end of the table
Eleven of the 17 companies paid out less than 35 percent of profit, and the median ratio is 22.8 percent. At the bottom, Ikeja Hotel paid N64.9 million on a profit of N4.06 billion, a ratio of 1.6 percent. Custodian Investment paid N1.47 billion on N36.67 billion, a ratio of 4.0 percent. Transcorp Hotels paid N1.02 billion on N10.54 billion, or 9.7 percent. UH REIT is lower still, at 0.2 percent.
Presco paid N10 per share, a total of N11.67 billion against a profit of N82.27 billion, a ratio of 14.2 percent. NGX Group paid N1.30 per share, N3.40 billion on N10.36 billion, a ratio of 32.9 percent. United Capital paid 30 kobo per share, N5.40 billion on N21.10 billion, or 25.6 percent.
These companies have kept most of their half-year earnings. United Capital, Custodian Investment, and Ikeja Hotel each held their per-share payout flat year-on-year, at 30 kobo, 25 kobo and 3 kobo respectively.
Across the three consumer and agribusiness names, Unilever Nigeria, Presco, and Guinness Nigeria, the picture is mixed. Together they paid N27.54 billion on a profit of N123.17 billion, a combined ratio of 22.4 percent. Unilever Nigeria carries the highest ratio of the three at 73.7 percent, while Presco and Guinness Nigeria sit at 14.2 and 17.3 percent. The group is a small contributor to the cash total, at 2.7 percent.
In a sectorial perspective, telecoms and industrial goods hold the top two places, while the three listed banks in the group, Stanbic IBTC, Zenith Bank, and GTCO, together paid N169.7 billion, or about 16 percent of the total.
What the numbers mean for investors
The first implication is concentration risk for income portfolios. An investor holding a broad basket of dividend payers receives most of the cash flow from two names. Strip out HBM Nigeria, the only firm that paid above profit, and the payout ratio for the remaining 15 falls to 37.5 percent, from 45.5 percent.
The second is the gap between profit and payout in the banking sector. Banks hold the largest profit pool, so even a modest rise in their payout ratios would move the aggregate. At the current 15.6 percent, a move to the 29.9 percent Stanbic IBTC recorded would add roughly N155 billion to the sample’s distribution on the same profit base.
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