BUA Foods, Nigeria’s most valuable listed company, is projected to more than double its dividend payout this year, supported by strong profit growth and improving cash flow, according to analysts at Lagos-based research, advisory and consultancy firm, CardinalStone.
The anticipated dividend increase would extend the consumer goods company’s dividend-paying streak, which it has sustained over the past four years, despite challenging economic conditions that have constrained many firms from rewarding shareholders.
BUA Foods declared dividends of N5.50 and N13 for the full years 2023 and 2024 respectively, driven by an average Earnings Per Share growth of 80 percent across both years, a performance analysts expect to be sustained this year and into 2026.
“For FY’25 and FY’26, we maintain a positive outlook, with forecast Dividend Per Share (DPS) of N27.09 and N33.56, respectively. This outlook is supported by robust profit-after-tax growth, solid operating cash-flow generation, and the maintenance of a high dividend payout ratio of 88.0%,” CardinalStone said in a recent report on the company.
BUA Foods, which began the year with a market capitalisation of N7.52 trillion, has since overtaken MTN Nigeria and Dangote Cement, with its valuation rising to N13.2 trillion, positioning the company as the most capitalised firm on the Nigerian Exchange.
The 77 percent surge in valuation has been attributed to strong profitability and growing investor confidence in the company’s fundamentals. Net profit at AbdulSamad Rabiu’s BUA Foods more than doubled to N405.3 billion in the nine months ended September 2025.
The company expects its strong earnings momentum to continue through the end of the year as it intensifies its expansion strategy to secure a larger share of Nigeria’s expanding food market.
This outlook was conveyed by the company’s Managing Director, Ayodele Abioye, who spoke to investors during a call held in November.
CardinalStone projects that BUA Foods’ full-year net profit could more than double to N554.13 billion, supported by a stabilising naira and easing inflation, which slowed for the eighth consecutive month to 14.45 percent in November.
The company’s revenue is also forecast to rise sharply to N1.9 trillion, compared with N1.8 trillion recorded last year, reflecting price adjustments and increased sales volumes across its product portfolio.
“For FY’26, we see room for a continued revenue uptick (+20.8% YoY to N2.3 trillion), aided by improving macroeconomic conditions, which is positive for customers’ purchasing power,” CardinalStone said.
“Additionally, we expect ongoing capacity expansions, improving utilisation rates, and deepening market penetration (particularly in the rice segment) to support volume growth further and, by extension, topline.”
