Johannesburg - AECI Ltd, a South African chemicals and explosives manufacturer, declared a special dividend after selling 1 600 hectares of land near Johannesburg to Chinese developer Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd.
The payout of R3.75 a share is in addition to an ordinary dividend of R2.25 a share for 2014, itself a 7 percent increase from 2013, AECI said in a statement on Tuesday. Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders climbed 16 percent to R1.1 billion ($94 million) in 2014 from a year earlier.
AECI sold the property in Modderfontein, situated between OR Tambo International Airport and the commercial hub of Sandton, in March for R978 million. Shanghai Zendai said in 2013 it plans to transform the former industrial area into the “New York of Africa” with an R80 billion investment over the next 15 years.
“Having received the full cash proceeds from the bulk property sale at Modderfontein, the board has decided to return the majority of the net proceeds to shareholders,” AECI said in the statement.
AECI’s profit from operations increased 14 percent to R1.6 billion in 2014, despite a negative impact of R300 million from the record five-month strike in South Africa’s platinum industry, the world’s largest. AECI provides explosives to mines.
“The group’s results normalised in the last quarter as the platinum sector recovered,” it said.
Bloomberg