Phuthuma Nathi shareholders receive R1.375bn dividend

Phuthuma Nathi shareholders will share in a R1.375bn dividend for the financial year ended 31 March 2023, after it was approved at the annual general meeting (AGM) today. Shareholders will be paid R20.37 per share before dividend tax (R16.30 after tax) in the first week of September.

Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice SA chair, said: “Despite the challenging macro economic environment, which is also having a severe impact on our Phuthuma Nathi shareholders, the board declared a dividend again this year. We want to lend a helping hand during these trying times to our 76 000 shareholders who come from all walks of life including domestic helpers, gardeners, professionals, stokvels and small businesses. We believe this dividend will bring much needed relief.”

Phuthuma Nathi chair, Mandla Langa, added: “ Phuthuma Nathi is a truly broad-based black economic empowerment scheme and one of the most successful B-BBEE schemes in South Africa. It has been delivering great value for our shareholders, who have received dividends every year since the scheme was implemented in 2006. To date, Phuthuma Nathi has received R17.8bn in dividends from MultiChoice SA.”

If an investor bought 400 Phuthuma Nathi shares in 2006 at R10 per share (an investment of R4 000), their shares would be worth approximately R50 000 (based on a share price of R125 on 4 August 2023). The same investor would have also received dividends amounting to R52 000 over this period, bringing the total return on investment to R102 000 to date – which is 25 times the initial investment.

Phuthuma Nathi has yielded a 33% annual return to investors over the past 17 years, of which roughly 17% was capital growth and the remainder being dividends received. It is rather unfortunate that some shareholders are losing out by not claiming their dividends, which is mainly because they have failed to update their banking details or have been deceased.

“We’ve been trying to reach these shareholders or their family members to pay the money that is rightfully theirs. Whilst we have already paid out R109m in unclaimed dividends, there is still R204m to be claimed,” concluded Langa.

Anyone who has ever owned Phuthuma Nathi shares, or knows of someone in their family who did, should please reach out to us via the Phuthuma Nathi call centre, at 086 011 6226.