BUA Group’s two publicly listed companies, BUA Foods Plc and BUA Cement Plc, are distributing ₦842.64 billion in cash dividends to shareholders, a record payout that has sparked widespread shareholder praise for BUA Group’s approach to translating corporate success into broader societal benefit.
BUA Foods is distributing ₦504 billion with a final dividend of ₦28 per share, a 115.4 percent increase from ₦13 paid in 2024, while BUA Cement is paying ₦338.64 billion, implying ₦10 per share, representing a 387.8 percent jump from ₦2.05 in 2024.
The magnitude of the payout underscores the financial strength underlying Nigeria’s industrial heartland. BUA Foods recorded group revenue of ₦1.77 trillion in 2025, up from ₦1.53 trillion in 2024, with profit before tax doubling to ₦521.53 billion, while net profit surged to ₦518.39 billion from ₦266 billion in 2024. BUA Cement’s turnover reached ₦1.18 trillion in 2025 from ₦876.47 billion, with profit before tax climbing to ₦465.28 billion and profit after tax quadrupling to ₦356.04 billion.
Yet shareholders weren’t merely celebrating capital returns. In a statement signed by Dr. Faruk Umar, President of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, investors cited Rabiu’s gifting of approximately ₦30 billion to 510 long-serving employees as unprecedented in Nigeria’s corporate history, with five employees becoming instant billionaires through ₦1 billion gifts each, while several others received up to ₦500 million.
Shareholders emphasized that the BUA Group has consistently demonstrated how to translate private enterprise and wealth into public benefits through high, employee incentive compensation schemes and customer empowerment. The company had earlier increased staff salaries by 50 percent in 2024, establishing a pattern of stakeholder prioritization that extends beyond quarterly earnings.
BUA Cement Plc and BUA Foods Plc rank among the largest companies on the Nigerian stock market, with a combined market value of approximately ₦26 trillion. BUA Foods is Nigeria’s largest publicly quoted food manufacturing company and the nation’s second-largest quoted company, while BUA Cement is the country’s second-largest cement company and one of the top five quoted companies.
Umar noted that BUA Group’s expansive investments in food and cement manufacturing form part of the pillars of Nigeria’s economic development, pointing out that the group’s ongoing investment in a petroleum refinery would further deepen Nigeria’s energy independence. He commended BUA Group’s corporate governance compliance record, which underlines the priority accorded to inclusive and sustainable growth.
Significantly, BUA Group has played a critical role in moderating prices of common goods like sugar and cement through increased supply and discounted pricing, which helped prevent skyrocketing inflationary pressures.
The dividend announcement arrives at a moment when Nigerian corporates face mounting pressure to balance shareholder returns with broader economic contribution. BUA Group’s strategy, record dividends alongside unprecedented employee gifting and price moderation, suggest a different corporate calculus entirely: one where shareholder wealth and stakeholder welfare reinforce rather than compete with one another.
