Bord na Móna shareholders, including more than 1,900 current and former workers, must wait until 2028 to get their full €30 million share of this year’s profits, the State company has told them.
The energy and waste group approved a dividend of 47.02 cent a share this year, worth around €1.53 million to staff and retirees, who own 5 per cent of the company through an employee share scheme, and €29.12 million to the Exchequer.
Bord na Móna paid workers a 21.47 cent a share dividend, worth around €690,000 overall, in recent days but enclosed a letter saying they would receive the remaining 25.55 cent, worth a total of €840,000, between now and 2028.
Meanwhile the State will receive €13.3 million of its €29.12 million share of the dividend this year, but will also receive the balance in payments between now and 2028.
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The dividend comes to a record €30.65 million in total. Bord na Móna’s board agreed the figure as it announced that it had earned €113 million pre-tax profits in the 12 months to March 27th this year.
Bord na Móna’s letter to workers states that the board agreed the dividend when it met on July 24th. “It is Bord na Móna’s intention to pay this dividend over a five-year period, with an initial payment of 21.47 cent per share being paid by August 2024,” it continues. “The balance of 25.55 cent per share is expected to be paid by 2028, to the shareholders on record at July 24th, 2024.”
Bord n Móna does not explain why it decided to pay the dividend over this period of time but it is understood that the hold up is down to the fact that the payment is the company’s highest ever.
Its shares are not traded publicly but do change hands on an internal market. The company points out that even if someone sells the shares they held on July 24th, they will still be entitled to the full dividend payment decided on that date.
While Bord na Móna’s pre-tax profits dipped slightly its operations earned a record €106.7 million, partly on the back of the sale to SSE Renewables of a 50 per cent stake in some wind farms it is building and the disposal of its stake in an electricity trading joint venture. Those deals netted the company more than €64 million in total, including a €57 million contribution from SSE.
The dividend is worth an average of €790 to each member of the employee share scheme. The average payment received this week is close to €360, while the balance comes to around €430.
Bord na Móna is shifting operations from managing the Republic’s peat to energy and waste. It is investing heavily in wind and solar generators among other ventures.
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