Williamson Tea Kenya Plc is eyeing approval to offer 17.51 million new shares to existing shareholders, presenting them with an opportunity to benefit from enhanced dividends and capital gains from stock price rises.
Disclosures by the agricultural firm listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) show it will issue 17,512,640 new bonus shares of Sh5 each in the capital of the company. The shares valued at Sh87, 563,200 will be fully financed by funds from the company’s reserves.
Williamson Tea said the share offer is subject to the approval of its shareholders and the Capital Markets Authority. The offer has been listed as a special business during the firm’s annual general meeting scheduled for August 28.
“It is desirable to capitalise the sum of Sh87,563,200 being part of the amount outstanding to the credit of the revenue reserve of the company and the sum be applied in making payment in full at par for Sh17,512,640 new shares of Sh5 each in the capital of the company,” the company says.
The company says that if approved, the new shares will be distributed as fully paid in the ratio of one fully paid share for every one ordinary share of the company held by the existing shareholders.
The beneficiaries of the new shares will be persons who were registered as shareholders of the company at the close of business on a day to be fixed by the company.
A bonus share is an additional share of stock that a company gives to its existing shareholders for free, typically based on the number of shares they already own.
Instead of distributing profits as cash dividends, a company might choose to issue bonus shares, which effectively converts retained profits into share capital.
Williamson Tea Kenya Plc is majority owned (51.46 percent) by Ngong Tea Holdings Ltd, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom. It deals mainly in the cultivation, processing, and sale of tea and investment in property.
The company suffered a Sh166.43 million loss in the financial year ended March 31, 2025, from a net profit of Sh526.95 million in the previous year.
However, the directors have recommended a final dividend of Sh10 per share, equivalent to a total sum of Sh175.12 million for the year ended March 31, 2025, to be paid from the company’s reserves, down from Sh25 per share, equivalent to Sh437.81 million paid to shareholders in 2024.
The dividends are still subject to approval by the shareholders.
