British American Tobacco(BAT) Kenya Plc shareholders are expected to approve a final dividend of KSh 41.50 per ordinary share, or a total of KSh 4.5 Billion- to be paid on 12th May 2021.
The final dividend, when added to an interim dividend of KSh 3.50 per share that was paid on 18th September 2020, brings the total dividend payout to BAT shareholders to KSh 45.00
Confirmation of the interim dividend and approval of the final dividend payments will be done at the listed firm’s 69th Annual General Meeting(AGM) held on 12th May 2021, through electronic means in line with COVID-19 protocols and public health directives.
According to audited results for the year ended 31st December 2020, BAT recorded KSh 5.5 Billion compared to KSh 3.9 Billion over a similar period in 2019.
In 2019, BAT paid its shareholders a total of KSh 3.4 Billion, placing the listed firm as one of the most rewarding to shareholders at the Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE).
Shareholders of BAT Kenya
Foreign companies, which hold an estimated 85.30% of the shareholding in BAT, are expected to benefit from this considerable dividend payout.
BAT shareholding structure as of 19th February 2020 was made of 32 foreign companies with 85,309,216 shares, 87 foreigners controlling a total of 339,974 shares or 0.34% shareholding of BAT.
Four hundred forty-eight local firms with 8,735,273 shares had an 8.74% stake, while 4,241 Kenyan individuals with 5,615,537 shares owned 5.62% of BAT.
During the virtual AGM, shareholders will vote on whether to re-elect Rita Kavashe, Chairperson of the BAT Board, Crispin Achola-CEO, Peter Mwangi, Dr Martin Oduor-Otieno and Andre Joubert, who have retired from the board as directors and have since offered themselves for re-election.
The preferred method of paying dividends that are below KSh 300,000 is through M-PESA.
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