Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The share price of one of the publicly listed companies, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, has been slashed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The action, which is actually a price adjustment, was taken as a result of the dividend proposed by the board of the organisation.
The company’s leadership has recommended the payment of a cash reward to shareholders and they will get 70 kobo for each of the firm’s equities in their portfolios.
The dividend, which is higher than the 42 kobo per share of the previous year, would be paid after the shareholders approve it at the forthcoming virtual Annual General Meeting slated for March 4, 2021.
The qualification date for the cash reward for the financial year ended September 30, 2020, was last Friday, which caused the price adjustment yesterday.
At the stock market last Friday, the price of the company’s stock closed at N9.30 per unit and at the start of trading on Monday, the value was reduced to N8.60 per unit to reflect the 70 kobo dividend deducted from its share price.
The exchange also sent a notice to stockbrokers yesterday to notify them of the change in the price of Vitafoam.
“The equity price of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc was adjusted [on] February 15, 2021, for a dividend of 70 kobo as recommended by the company’s board of directors.
“The last close price was N9.30, while the ex-div price is N8.60,” the disclosure from the NSE read.
Business Post reports that at the market on Monday, the value of Vitafoam shares closed flat at N8.60 per unit, with a total of 211,138 units worth N1.7 million transacted by investors.
In the past one year, the equity price has traded as low as N3.61 each and as high as N10.05 each.
In the 2020 fiscal year, the firm had a good performance despite the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on its operating environment and earnings.
Vitafoam grew its turnover last year by 5.2 per cent to N23.4 billion from N22.3 billion, while gross profit appreciated by 25.7 per cent to N11.0 billion from N8.8 billion, with the pre-tax jumping by 61.5 per cent to N5.6 billion from N3.5 billion.
