(Ecofin Agency) - Subsidiaries of the Bank of Africa (BOA) in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Niger are set to initiate the 2023 dividend distribution season on the regional stock exchange BRVM. Investors can anticipate a total payout of CFA36.96 billion (approximately $61 million) in net dividends from these banks.

As per the official schedule, three BOA group banks will be the first listed companies to disburse dividends to shareholders for the 2023 financial year on the BRVM. BOA Côte d'Ivoire will lead the way on April 29, distributing CFA13.68 billion ($23.09 million) in net dividends. Investors in this entity have already seen an 86.4% appreciation in their share value in 2023, with a dividend yield of 9.92%. Thanks to its strong financial fundamentals, which have been shared with the investment community, BOA CI is expected to continue the upward trend in its stock price that began early in 2024.

The BOA branch in Burkina Faso will follow on May 6 with CFA15.48 billion, corresponding to a yield of 10.1% for 2023 and a significant stock price gain of 34.5%. BOA Niger will round up the distributions on May 31 with CFA 7.8 billion.

In total, investors of these three BOA branches will receive nearly CFA37 billion ($61 million) in net dividends, part of an overall amount that has reached CFA473.6 billion when including dividend announcements from ONATEL and BOA Senegal. Despite a mixed performance in 2023, the Burkina Faso subsidiary of the Moroccan group Itissalat al-Maghrib has decided to distribute nearly all of its net profit.

Among the 14 BRVM companies that have already announced dividends, the average yield is about 8.7%, according to Ecofin Agency calculations, in addition to a cumulative stock market gain of CFA713.6 billion. Altogether, these companies have secured CFA1,187.3 billion ($1.95 billion) in confirmed gains for their investors.