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NSE blue-chip firms signal increased dividend payouts
The strong earnings and expectations of higher dividends saw the blue-chip firms add hundreds of billions of shillings in shareholder wealth in 2025’s market rally.
Blue-chip firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) have signalled they will pay higher dividends for their respective financial years, a move that helped fuel the stock market rally seen in 2025.
Safaricom, BAT Kenya, and banks such as Equity Group, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, and NCBA Group are among the companies that have either raised their interim dividends or recorded strong earnings growth, putting them on course to lift total dividend payouts to shareholders.
BAT, for instance, doubled its interim dividend to Sh10 per share for the half year to June 2025 when its net profit surged 39.7 percent to Sh2.98 billion.
The company had paid an interim dividend of Sh5 per share in the prior year’s first half and followed it up with a final payout of Sh45 per share for a total dividend of Sh50 per share.
BAT resumed the sale of nicotine pouches in June 2025 in a move that is expected to boost sales from its mainstay cigarettes.
Safaricom, which has a policy of distributing at least 80 percent of its net income to shareholders, reported a 52.2 percent growth in net profit to Sh42.7 billion in the half year to September. Maintaining the earnings momentum in the current half will enable the telco to enhance its dividend from the Sh1.2 per share it has maintained in the past few years.
The bank had previously maintained a dividend of Sh1.5 per share, which was paid once after the end of each financial year. Keeping the final dividend at Sh1.5 per share will raise the company’s total dividend to Sh2.5 per share, representing a 66.6 percent increase in cash returns.
Co-op Bank posted a 12.3 percent growth in net profit to Sh21.56 billion in the nine months to September, driven by higher interest income.
Equity Group also grew its net income by 32.6 percent to Sh52.1 billion in the nine months to September, putting it on course to pay a new record dividend for the full year. The bank said in June, when it held its annual general meeting, that it remains committed to its dividend policy of distributing between 30 percent and 50 percent of its net earnings.
Equity paid a dividend of Sh4.25 per share for the year to December 2024, which, viewed against the latest results on an annualised basis, represents a payout ratio of 23.1 percent.
“The group remained committed to its dividend policy, which provides for a dividend payout ratio of 30 percent to 50 percent. This year, the dividend payout was 34 percent,” the bank said of the dividend paid for the year to December 2024.
I&M Group has also signalled a larger dividend payout, having raised its interim distribution by 15.3 percent to Sh1.5 per share. The interim dividend was raised from Sh1.3 per share in the prior year, when the total payout stood at Sh3 per share. The bank grew its net profit by 28.7 percent to Sh11.8 billion in the nine months to September.
NCBA Group increased its interim dividend to Sh2.5 per share from the prior year’s Sh2.25 per share amid earnings growth that saw its net profit for the nine months rise 8.5 percent to Sh16.4 billion. The bank had paid a total dividend of Sh5.5 per share for 2024.
Stanbic Holdings more than doubled its interim dividend to Sh3.8 per share from Sh1.84 per share despite its net income declining 9.3 percent to Sh6.5 billion in the half year to June. The company said this was a distribution of excess capital in a move that also seeks to improve the return on equity.
Private sector lending
With interest rates falling, banks are expected to increase their lending to the private sector, which will help fuel economic growth.
The average commercial bank lending rate declined to 14.88 percent in November 2025 from 17.15 percent, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya.
The strong earnings and expectations of higher dividends saw the blue-chip firms add hundreds of billions of shillings in shareholder wealth in 2025’s market rally, which was also underpinned by falling interest rates and a stronger shilling.
Safaricom’s share price gained 66.2 percent last year, with the telco adding Sh452 billion to its market value to close at Sh1.135 trillion.
Equity closed 2025 with a market capitalisation of Sh251.8 billion, having gained Sh69.6 billion in the year.
Co-op Bank closed 2025 with a market value of Sh140.5 billion, having increased by Sh45.5 billion in 12 months.
BAT’s share price jumped 22 percent, growing shareholder wealth by Sh8.3 billion to Sh45.9 billion.
NCBA recorded a 58.9 billion gain in market capitalisation to Sh138.3 billion, partly due to a report that the bank is the target of a buyout by South Africa’s Standard Bank Group.
