The volume of unclaimed dividends in the cement sub-sector spiked in 2022, climbing to a total of N6.719 billion in the books of the three cement firms in the country.
The new figures have thus pushed up the unclaimed dividend which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) computed at N177 billion in 2021 from N168 billion in 2020.
From a total of N6.504 billion in 2021, unclaimed dividends in the books of the trio of Dangote, Lafarge, and BUA rose by N214 million in 2022.
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A breakdown of the amount shows that, unlike BUA and Lafarge which recorded an increase of over N400 million in unclaimed dividends in the year under review, the figure in the books of Dangote dropped to N4.4 billion from N4.6 billion recorded in 2021.
Lafarge in 2022 recorded a jump to N1.63 billion from N1.43 billion in 2021 while the unclaimed dividend in BUA in 2022 also increased to N689.53 million from N474.74 million in 2021.
SEC had on 29th July 2015, introduced the e-Dividend Management Mandate System (e-DMMS) to stem the surge of unclaimed dividends, quoted companies however, have continued to accumulate unclaimed dividend funds, some of which are likely going to be unavailable to be claimed again after about 12 years.
Unclaimed dividend is the benefits, which is being paid by a company that the shareholder has not claimed due to various reasons including loss of ownership identification. These unclaimed dividends would be paid by the company as and when demanded by the rightful owners, indicating that it is a liability for the company.
However, dividends that remain unclaimed for a period exceeding 12 years from the date of declaration and which are no longer actionable by shareholders following Section 432 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, are included in the profits that should be distributed to the other shareholders of the Company in subsequent years.
The SEC last disclosed that a total of N170 billion in unclaimed dividends had been remitted to the Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund (UDTF) which is being managed by the Commission and the Debt Management Office (DMO
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