NSE firms start paying juicy Sh75bn dividends

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Shareholders of companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) will bank Sh74.95 billion from dividends in the weeks to October, reaping from a surge in share prices.

The dividend payouts have emerged as an important source of liquidity for individuals and businesses in an economy that is still grappling with costly credit and shrunken payslips.

While the dividends will offer a boost to the economy and demand for goods and services in corporate Kenya, 45 percent of the cash, or Sh33 billion, will be repatriated from the country by multinational shareholders with stakes in the firms.

Safaricom, East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), KCB Group, BAT Kenya, Stanbic Holdings, Absa Bank Kenya and NCBA Group will start paying dividends from August 30 and early November.

Others are Car & General, Kapchorua Tea, Williamson Tea, Crown Paints, Liberty Kenya Holdings and Laptrust Imara I-Reit.

The majority of companies reported higher profits this year, allowing them to increase their payouts to shareholders by 42 percent, or Sh22.3 billion, from the Sh52.7 billion the 13 companies paid out in the same period last year.

The dividends are a mix of interim and final payouts, depending on the financial reporting calendar of individual companies.

“The higher dividends are top-line-driven, with the falling cost of financing on their balance sheets also creating space for higher dividends. The banks and other companies such as Safaricom, EABL and Car & General have recently reported record profits that have given them money to reward shareholders,” said Wesley Manambo, a senior research associate at Standard Investment Bank.

Safaricom is making the biggest distribution at Sh46.08 billion, which will be paid out on September 4 to shareholders who were on the company’s register by August 4.

The payment relates to the telco’s final dividend of Sh1.15 per share that was declared in May when it released its financial results for the year ended March 2026, in which net profit was up 37 percent to Sh95.6 billion.

In the previous year, the company’s final dividend was Sh0.65 per share, meaning it distributed Sh26 billion at this time in 2025.

KCB will pay Sh9.64 billion in interim dividends on November 10 at a rate of Sh3 per share. The bank announced its half-year results last week, where its net profit rose 14.2 percent to Sh36 billion.

In 2025, its half-year interim dividend was Sh2 per share, but it also paid out a special dividend of Sh2 per unit from the proceeds of the sale of National Bank of Kenya to Nigerian lender Access Plc.

Other banks that have already declared interim dividends are NCBA, Stanbic and Absa, which will make their respective payouts on September 8, September 15 and October 15.

NCBA is paying out Sh6.18 billion after raising its interim dividend for the half year to June to Sh3.75 per share from Sh2.50 a year earlier, while Stanbic will distribute Sh1.5 billion after halving its dividend to Sh1.64 from Sh3.80 per share.

Absa announced an enhanced interim dividend of Sh0.50 per share on Tuesday from last year’s Sh0.20, with the bank now set to hand shareholders Sh2.72 billion in mid-October.

“These banks are all well above the minimum regulatory capital requirements, allowing them to pay higher dividends that support their share prices from a valuation point of view,” added Mr Manambo.

In the manufacturing segment, EABL and BAT will be making payments of Sh6.88 billion and Sh1 billion on October 31 and September 25, respectively.

Earlier this month, EABL announced a final dividend of Sh8.70 per share after reporting a record net profit of Sh18 billion for the year ended June 2026. BAT is making an interim payout of Sh10 per share for the half year to June.

Liberty (Sh267.9 million), Crown Paints (Sh427.1 million), Kapchorua (Sh469.4 million), Car & General (Sh80.2 million) and Williamson (Sh525.4 million) will pay their dividends between August 30 and September 30. Laptrust Imara I-Reit will distribute Sh45 million on September 30.

However, even as shareholders of these companies enjoy higher returns from their investments, the increased ownership of the top firms by foreign investors means that 45 percent of the cash, or Sh33 billion, will be shipped out of the country and the local economy.

These multinational subsidiaries have in recent years consistently paid dividends, making them attractive to foreigners eyeing higher returns from the local market.

In June, South African company Vodacom Group tightened its grip on Safaricom by purchasing an additional 15 percent stake from the Kenya government for Sh204 billion, taking its controlling stake to 55 percent.

South Africa’s Nedbank is buying a 66 percent stake in NCBA for about Sh110 billion in a deal that is expected to close by the end of the year. Absa Group has bid for an additional 16.5 percent stake in its Kenyan unit for Sh30.9 billion, which, if fully subscribed, will raise its controlling stake to 85 percent.

This has, however, raised concerns about rising repatriation of corporate profits from the economy as foreigners deepen their hold on large firms.

Speaking on Monday, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro said the acquisition of larger stakes in the banks and Safaricom by foreign entities risks locking out Kenyan investors from the financial benefits of one of the economy’s fastest-growing sectors.

“Kenyan banks, whether big or small, are making money. We must therefore guard against the takeover of Kenyan banks by international institutions, so that we do not hand the benefit to others,” said Mr Nyoro, a former chairman of the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee.

By virtue of its larger stake in Safaricom, Vodacom will now bank Sh25.3 billion in dividends from the telco, up from Sh10.4 billion from last year’s payout.

Although they are a positive for the companies, the higher multinational dividend outflows can also strain the domestic foreign exchange market as the firms buy a larger volume of dollars to repatriate to their parents.

It also draws out of the country capital that would have otherwise been invested locally had it been paid out to resident investors.

The companies with large foreign ownership are also some of the biggest dollar buyers during their dividend season for onward payment to their external shareholders.

Reporting originally appeared via Business Daily. Read the full source for additional context.