29% Rise in Dividend Payout Excites Red Star Express Shareholders

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Despite rising operating costs and challenging economic conditions, Red Star Express Plc grew its revenue for the year ended March 31, 2026, by 8.5 per cent to N23.49 billion from N21.66 billion in the previous fiscal year.

The improvement in earnings was driven by expansion in its business and investment in technology, and the execution of the management’s 4 P’s strategy of People, Purpose, Performance, and Progression.

Details of the financial statements submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the company was strategic about executing business expansion, technology adoption, disciplined cost management and sustained business development efforts.

The success of these strategies helped to push the pre-tax profit higher by 16.2 per cent to N1.07 billion from N924.72 million a year earlier, inspiring the board to increase the dividend payout by 28.57 per cent to 45 Kobo from 35 Kobo, paid to shareholders over the weekend after the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

This was after the cash reward proposed by the board was approved by the shareholders, who expressed satisfaction with the growth recorded in the year under review.

The dividend recommendation forms part of the company’s continued focus on creating value for shareholders while investing in the long-term growth of the business.

It was observed that Red Star Express’ results coincided with strong growth across Nigeria’s transportation and storage industry, which was up by almost 19 per cent in 2025

The company’s operations span express courier services, freight, warehousing, logistics, haulage and support services through its subsidiaries — Red Star Logistics, Red Star Freight and Red Star Support.

Technology emerged as a major pillar of Red Star Express’ strategy during the year, with the company advancing its digital transformation programme to improve efficiency and customer experience.

The firm continued the development of RedSpeed, its proprietary digital logistics platform. The web platform became available to customers during the year, while a mobile application was developed for deployment through major mobile application platforms.

RedSpeed is designed to improve customer accessibility, shipment visibility and convenience, while Red Star Express also operates a cloud-based Customer Relationship Management system for managing customer requests, complaints and communication history.

The company also invested in an Enterprise Resource Planning system to strengthen process integration, data visibility and decision-making across the organisation.

Beyond financial performance, Red Star Express reported progress across its sustainability agenda, including investment in employees, community development, environmental responsibility and responsible technology use.

Its expanded the use of solar energy across its office locations during the year as part of efforts to support more sustainable energy practices and reduce reliance on conventional power sources.

Through the Red Star Foundation, the company continued its education-focused community intervention, supporting deserving students in Government Secondary Schools within the Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area, its host community.

Employee development also remained a priority, with training covering technical and operational skills, leadership, compliance, safety, customer service, data protection, risk management and professional development.

The institution’s priorities for the coming years include accelerating digital transformation, expanding customer touchpoints through strategic partnerships, evolving its service offerings and investing further in its people and operational efficiency.

Commenting on the performance, the chairman of Red Star Express, Mr Suleiman Barau, said,  “We expect Nigeria’s business environment to continue evolving, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Economic reforms, increasing digital adoption and changing patterns of trade and consumption will continue to shape the business landscape.”