HARRISON EDEH

SEPLAT Energy Plc has announced an exchange rate of ₦1,360.58 to the dollar for shareholders receiving the company’s second-quarter 2026 interim and special dividends in naira, setting the stage for a substantial payout to its largest individual shareholder, Tony Elumelu.

In a statement issued on Thursday, August 13, 2026, the company said the applicable rate was the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rate published by the Central Bank of Nigeria on August 12.

“The Naira equivalent of the Q2 2026 interim dividend and special dividend will be calculated using the above exchange rate,” Seplat stated.

The announcement gives a clearer picture of the naira value of the dividend accruing to Elumelu, who holds 120.4 million Seplat shares, representing a 20.07 per cent stake in the company as of June 30, 2026.

His interest is held indirectly through Heirs Group, comprising Heirs Energies Ltd and Heirs Holdings Ltd.

Seplat had declared a dividend of 12 US cents per share for the second quarter, comprising a five-cent core dividend and a seven-cent special dividend.

At the announced exchange rate, the 12-cent payout translates to about ₦163.27 per share.

For Elumelu, the 12-cent dividend on his 120.4 million shares amounts to $14.448 million, equivalent to approximately ₦19.66 billion at the ₦1,360.58 exchange rate.

The Q2 payout represents a 33 per cent increase from the nine-cent dividend declared for the first quarter and a 161 per cent increase from the two-cent dividend paid in the second quarter of 2025.

It also takes Seplat’s total dividend declared for the first half of 2026 to 21 cents per share.

Elumelu’s first-half dividend reaches ₦34bn

With the 12-cent Q2 payment added to the nine-cent Q1 dividend, Elumelu’s dividend earnings for the first six months of 2026 rise to $25.284 million.

At the same exchange rate announced by Seplat, this is equivalent to approximately ₦34.40 billion.

The first-half payout reflects the company’s stronger shareholder-return position, supported by what Seplat described as a strong commodity price environment and robust cash generation.

For all shareholders, the company said its board had approved the 12-cent Q2 dividend as a new quarterly high for Seplat.

Seplat plans to pay the Q2 dividend on August 28, with August 13 set as the qualification date.

The company’s full-year plan points to an even larger dividend payout as the management intends to distribute 45 cents per share, equivalent to $270 million, from underlying business operations for the 2026 financial year.

If that operational dividend is achieved, Elumelu’s 20.07 per cent holding would generate $54.18 million for the year before the additional transaction dividend, if the billionaire businessman chooses not to raise his stake.

NNPCL deal could lift Elumelu’s payout to ₦111.9bn

The bigger potential increase in Elumelu’s 2026 dividend income is tied to Seplat’s agreement to sell a 10 per cent working interest in the assets held within the NNPCL-SEPNU Joint Venture to NNPC Limited.

The transaction has a headline value of $281.6 million and represents 25 per cent of Seplat’s participating interest in the joint venture. A legally binding Heads of Agreement was signed on July 29, 2026, with completion expected in the second half of the year.

Seplat said it plans to use the proceeds roughly equally for debt repayment and a special transaction dividend to shareholders.

Subject to completion of the divestment, the company intends to pay a 23.3-cent transaction dividend, equivalent to $140 million.

This would take Seplat’s expected total 2026 dividend to 68.3 cents per share, or approximately $410 million.

For Elumelu, 68.3 cents on his 120.4 million shares would amount to approximately $82.23 million for the year.

Using the August 12 NFEM rate of ₦1,360.58 to the dollar, that translates to about ₦111.88 billion.

The projected figure is therefore more than three times his estimated first-half dividend of ₦34.40 billion and reflects the significant impact of the proposed transaction dividend on shareholder returns.

The 68.3-cent payout would also represent a 173 per cent increase year-on-year, according to the company’s Q2 financial results.

However, the additional 23.3-cent payment remains conditional on completion of the NNPCL transaction.

Seplat expects to retain a 30 per cent working interest in the joint venture assets after completion and remain the operator.

The transaction will also affect Seplat’s reserves and production outlook, as the company expects group 2P reserves to fall by about 13 per cent to 872.9 million barrels of oil equivalent, while its 2030 net production target has been reduced from 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to 170,000 barrels per day.

Despite the proposed asset divestment, Seplat’s 2026 production guidance of 135,000 to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day remains in place for now.