WorldStage– Guinness Nigeria Plc, a leading brewery in the country on April 14 declared a N2 interim dividend per share for 2026 first quarter as current debt-asset ratio soared and cash dwindled
The dividend represented a 71 percent dip from N7.14 five years ago when the brewer of iconic brands like Guinness Stout, Malta Guinness, and Harp Lager last declared a dividend.
The declaration followed the quarter’s profit after tax which grew 48 percent to N10.4 billion, from N7 billion in the same quarter of 2025.
This year, the brewer with N1.01 trillion capitalization, will pay out N4.4 billion for its 2.19 billion outstanding shares.
According to its unaudited financial statement for the quarter, the company’s retained earnings stands at N5.2 billion, its current debt-asset ratio at 1.7 (170 percent), and cash and cash equivalent, dropping 94 percent from N380 million in 2025 Quarter 1, stands at N22.8 million.
Paying down deb and settling up othert short-term obligations put pressure on the profit for the quarter, thus necessitating caution in dividend declaration.
“As a board we remain firmly committed to rewarding our shareholders while Guinness Nigeria Plc is positioned for sustainable, long-term growth,” Fabian Ajogwu, board chairman, said in a press release.
Since 2018, Guinness dividend has been growing at 1.7 percent which brings down the 2026 dividend yield to 0.004 percent, compared to 60 percent the last time it declared in 2022.
But its dividend of N2 remains high compared to Champion Breweries Plc’s N0.07 for 2025, n Breweries Plc’s N1.03 for 2023, and Golden Guinea Breweries which has not declared in years.
