The Namibia Economist

Old Mutual pays special dividend

Old Mutual this week announced a total dividend payout totalling N$69 million to Namibian shareholders including policyholders, BEE partners and Old Mutual staff members following an announcement of the recent sale of the company’s Nordic business to Skandia Liv.
This payout will be disbursed through a final ordinary share dividend for 2011 of 43.04 cents per share, as well as a special dividend valued at N$2.21 per share. Explaining the disparity in dividend value, Old Mutual Namibia said in a statement  that disbursements of special dividends are inevitably larger than ordinary dividends paid out by a company, and are a non-recurring distribution of company assets to shareholders.
The insurance giant said the final ordinary dividend payout of 43.04 cents was evidence of a strong growth in value returned to shareholders year on year, well up on the final dividend of 31.51cents and 17.32cents declared for the years 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Old Mutual added that while the special dividend payout will not influence the individual percentage holding of investors, at this time the company will also undertake a consolidation of shares to ensure the comparability of the share price and earnings per share, before and after the payment of the special dividend. “This will allow our shareholders to compare earnings per share and share prices with previous financial periods, whilst retaining the same percentage share holding as before consolidation.”
Said Sakaria Nghikembua, CEO Operations: “This year’s special dividend, on top of the solid ordinary dividend payout, presents Old Mutual with a great opportunity to deliver extra value back to its shareholders, genuinely assisting Namibian shareholders to best achieve their life time financial goals”
Total Old Mutual dividend payout to Namibian shareholders later this month is N$2.64 per share.

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