The Bamburi share shed 22.4 percent in trading yesterday at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) following the closure of the firm’s shareholder register on a Sh18.35 special dividend on Friday.
The stock shed Sh18 to close at Sh62.50, on a day when 13,800 shares of the company changed hands.
The share was trading without the usual protection of a 10 percent price movement cap due to the trading session being the first since the material dividend event. Bamburi announced the special payout on August 30, with the payment set to be made on September 27.
The dividend which totals to Sh6.62 billion is being paid from the proceeds of the company’s $84 million (Sh10.85 billion) sale of its 70 percent stake in its Ugandan subsidiary Hima Cement in March.
Bamburi’s share price registered an increase of 10.7 percent on the date of the special dividend announcement to close at Sh77.50, before making further gains as the book closure date approached.
Overall, the company’s shareholders have since the beginning of July benefited from capital gains resulting from corporate announcements.
On July 10, Tanzanian conglomerate Amsons Group disclosed a takeover offer for the shares of the company at a price ofSh65 per unit, resulting in an immediate jump in the Bamburi share price from Sh45 to Sh57.75.
On August 29 —the day before the dividend announcement— Kenyan company Savannah Clinker Limited put forward a rival takeover bid which it priced at Sh70 per share. This announcement saw the stock rise by 6.5 percent or Sh4.25 to Sh70 on the day.
When compounded, the price movements have given the stock a year-to-date capital gain of 74.33 percent (based on yesterday’s closing price).
The overall return to investors of the company when combining the capital gains and dividends paid within the calendar year amounts to 140.5 percent.
Other than the Sh18.25 special dividend, Bamburi paid a final dividend of Sh5.47 a share on July 25, for the financial year ended December 2023.
