Atras

SAB Zenzele continues to give back

SAB -- Blog -- ZenzeleZenzele continues to empower with year end March 2015 dividend up 14.90% on previous year

SAB’s broad-based black economic empowerment transaction, SAB Zenzele, has paid out a total of R613-million in dividends to its more than 42 000 shareholders since it was launched five years ago in 2010, and in addition the scheme has generated some R6.6-billion in net value for its shareholders. 

The beneficiaries of the scheme are:

  • the SAB Zenzele Employee Trust
  • SAB Zenzele Holdings Limited (holds shares for the benefit of black-owned beer and soft drink retailers)
  • The SAB Foundation Trust (supports entrepreneurship projects with the aim of benefiting low-income communities)

Making a tangible difference

The SAB Zenzele transaction represents a total of 42 456 shareholders.

The transaction was designed to be genuinely broad-based, provide tangible benefits to participants from the first year and to support the normalisation of the liquor trade.

 

SAB Foundation Trust

Since the launch of the transaction, SAB Foundation Trust has received a total of R106-million in dividends and has in turn supported 260 enterprises which offer products and services for the benefit of women, youth, people living with disabilities and people living in rural areas.

 

SAB Zenzele Holdings Limited

A total of 29 543 retailers have received a total pay-out of R274-million in dividends through SAB Zenzele Holdings (RF) Limited.

A cumulative R233-million in dividends has been paid out to the SAB Zenzele Employee Trust over the five years.

 

Keeping promises

Based on SAB’s financial performance for the year ended March 2015, the SAB Board has paid a full year dividend of R148.98-million, a 14.90% increase from R129.66-million paid in the same period last year in respect of shares held by the three SAB Zenzele beneficiaries.

“We are very proud that five years down the line we continue to deliver on our promise to provide real benefits to genuinely broad-based constituencies through a truly innovative transaction and making a tangible impact in the lives of many thousands of people in South Africa, ” says Mauricio Leyva, Managing Director, SAB Pty Ltd.

SAB Zenzele was designed to begin delivering real value to shareholders with a dividend pay-out beginning in the first year, a unique feature of the transaction.

 

5 Key Features

A combination of key features make the transaction distinctive:

  1. The benefits of the transaction are specifically targeted at the major stakeholder groups who have played a meaningful role in SAB’s long-term business success.
  2. The transaction was made affordable and easily accessible for targeted stakeholders. Employees and the SAB Foundation are not required to pay for their shares, and retailers a nominal cash investment.
  3. There was no external bank funding required, contributing significantly to the sustainability of the transaction.
  4. Meaningful cash dividend stream was paid to all participants from year one, thereby delivering a significant economic benefit.
  5. Through the SAB Foundation, many historically disadvantaged South Africans benefit from sustainable ongoing investment aimed at fostering entrepreneurship.

The 10-year duration of the transaction means that it will reach maturity in 2020, at which time SAB Zenzele shares will be exchanged for tradable SABMiller Plc shares.

“We believe that our historically strong performance as a business has been closely related to our active role in South Africa’s social and economic development. It therefore makes sense that members of broader South African society should reap some of the benefit” says Leyva.