Shareholders of Nigerian Breweries Plc – the foremost brewing company in Nigeria have unanimously approved the issuance of 2.1 billion bonus shares to qualifying shareholders following the conclusion of its Extraordinary General Meeting held at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos. The value of the 2.1 billion bonus shares as at the date of the EGM was N84 billion.
With this development, qualifying shareholders, that is those who were on the Register of Members at the close of business on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, are now entitled to receive a bonus of one share for every four shares held as at that date.,
Speaking during the meeting, the Chairman, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dr. Kola Jamodu, (CFR), explained that the board took the decision to offer bonus shares to shareholders based on the Company’s robust share premium account and in response to the yearnings of shareholders over the years for bonus shares. He added that with issuance of the 2.1 billion shares, the Company has now closed the gap between its issued and unissued shares as required by the Corporate Affairs Commission pursuant to the provision of Section 124 and 868 of CAMA 2020.
In their responses, shareholders praised the company for delivering what they called as an “early Christmas gift” to them.
The National Coordinator of Progressive Shareholders Association Boniface Okezie stated that: “ We are very delighted that NB Plc is showing appreciation to shareholders even when we least expected it. We must commend the management for managing cost effectively as well as the board for doing the right thing via the issuance of bonus shares”.
Another shareholder, Bamisile Abiola said he was highly impressed by the company’s strides especially in its contribution to climate change by making several investments in solar and alternative energies to reduce its power generation costs.
On his part, the President of Noble Shareholders Solidarity Association, Mathew Akinlade praised the management of NB Plc for prioritizing the welfare of the shareholders and posting an impressive financial performance amidst a challenging business environment.
In his words – “No doubt, the board of Nigerian Breweries Plc has once again shown how concerned it is to the welfare of its shareholders. Despite the challenging business environment, the company has continued to show positive trends both in terms of revenue and profits earned. We are glad that you are giving us a bonus of 1 for 4 shares.”
Recall that on December 1, 2022, Nigerian Breweries plc paid an interim dividend of 40 kobo per share to its shareholders. Speaking on the bonus issue and the interim dividend payment, the Company Secretary/Legal Director, Uaboi Agbebaku explained that both actions clearly demonstrate the commitment of the Board to continue to reward Shareholders for their investment in the Company.
