Power generation giant Geregu Power Plc pushed its balance sheet to the absolute limit in its 2025 financial year, choosing to aggressively drain its cash reserves to maintain a massive N22.5 billion dividend payout to shareholders despite a squeeze on its bottom line.
Surprisingly, at the company’s annual general meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday June 30, the Abdul-Aziz Abubakar Yari-led Board of Directors of Geregu Power Plc got shareholders approval to pay this massive dividend.
While a marginal dip in net profit—from N27.43 billion in 2024 to N27.25 billion in 2025 —would typically prompt a conservative approach to capital preservation under Nigeria’s high-inflation macroeconomic climate, the utility firm defied the headwinds by committing to an audacious 82.5 percent payout ratio.
The Board had approved a dividend of N9 per share subject to the approval of shareholders at the Tuesday’s meeting. This is compared to 2024 when the board and the shareholders approved dividend of N8.50 per share for the audited financial statement.
Geregu has 2.5 billion shares outstanding each trading at a 52-week low of N917.4 as against a 52-week high of N1,019.3. Abdul-Aziz Abubakar Yari, the current chairman of Geregu Power indirectly holds 1.921billion shares which implies that he got N17.2billion as dividend payout drawn from the company’s cash reserves.
On December 29, 2025, Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited underwent a restructuring of its ownership following a share sale. As a result, MA’AM Energy Limited acquired 95 percent equity interest in Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited thereby becoming the new controlling shareholder of Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited.
This transaction led to the change of board of directors at Geregu Power Plc on that same day.
While the transaction did not involve the direct sale or transfer of shares of Geregu Power Plc, and therefore the shareholding, however, the change in the ownership of the Company’s majority shareholder resulted in a change in the ultimate beneficial owner of 77 percent of the Company’s issued share capital.
According to the register of members, the following shareholders of the company held 5 percent or more of the issued ordinary share capital of the company as at December 31, 2025.
They are: Amperion Power Distribution Limited (1.921billion units or 76.86 percent), and Libreville Power (125million units or 5 percent). The free float of the company as at December 31, 2025 was 453,574,677 in unit representing 18.14 percent.
A close look at the company’s audited financials reveals that this corporate generosity of paying N22.5billion in dividend despite marginal 0.64 percent profit dip was fueled by heavy trade-offs rather than fresh operational cash.
Though the company’s revenue rose to N184.935billion in 2025 as against N137.126billion in 2024, this aggressive 82.5 percent payout ratio was a critical statement of intent.
With Femi Otedola exiting his controlling stake in late 2025 via a massive $750 million transaction, and institutional investors like MA’AM Energy stepping in as the new majority shareholders, maintaining a strong, predictable dividend was essential to anchor investor confidence and preserve the stock’s premium valuation on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Financially, they had the “accounting space” to declare the dividend because of an accumulated mountain of past profits (retained earnings exceeding N57 billion).