Between 23 April and 30 September 2026, 33 companies listed on the BRVM paid their dividend for the 2025 financial year. The schedule is public, the tax rates too. But between the announced coupon and what remains in the investor’s pocket, then in the zone, four figures are missing. Here they are.
A five-month season, well documented
On the official “Dividend Payment” page of the BRVM, I noted the notices for the 2025 fiscal year: 33 companies, a first payment on 23 April, a last one on 30 September. The pace follows that of the general meetings: one company in April, four in May, eight in June, six in July, eight in August, six in September.
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Banks and telecoms carry significant weight: thirteen banks and three telecommunications operators, making up nearly one in two companies. The other seventeen belong to agro-industry, manufacturing, distribution, and services.
The official calendar of 10 June 2026 sets the rules: the ex-dividend date falls on the trading day preceding payment (“T-1”). To receive the coupon, shares must be held before this date. Notices are published one by one; the page does not display a total for the season. This is the first of four shortcomings that I address in the conclusion.
An average return of 7,57 %, calculated before the 2026 increase
As of 31 December 2025, the indicators published by the BRVM showed an average dividend yield of 7,57 %, an average P/E ratio of 11,90 and an average return of 9,64 %. The market comprised 47 companies, with a market capitalization of 13 330,7 billion FCFA (+32,27 % over the year 2025; the BRVM Composite index, for its part, rose by 25,26 %).
Since then, the market has continued to rise. On 5 October 2026, the equity market capitalization reached 21 143,4 billion FCFA and the BRVM Composite 539,17 points, compared to 13 330,7 billion and 345,75 points on 31 December 2025: +58,6 % and +55,9 %. The consequence is arithmetic: a dividend from the 2025 financial year, measured against today’s price, yields less than the 7,57 % calculated at the end of 2025. This figure is a starting point, not a purchase rate.
Facing it, public securities. At the August 2026 auctions published by UMOA-Titres, Treasury bills at 12 months were awarded from 3,75 % (Côte d’Ivoire, 4 August) to 7,57 % (Sénégal, 6 August), and bonds of 3, 5 and 7 years from 6,09 % (Burkina Faso, 26 August) to 8,24 % (Sénégal, 28 August). The BCEAO key rate has been at 3,00 % since 16 March 2026 and second-quarter inflation stands at 0,4 %. The two types of return are not directly comparable: that of a bond is fixed at issuance, while that of a share is calculated on a past dividend and a fluctuating price.
Second gap: net after tax
The dividend is subject to income tax on movable capital (IRVM), withheld at source by the paying company, at the rate applicable in its country. I reviewed the texts of five states. In Côte d’Ivoire, the rate is 10 % on dividends from companies listed on the BRVM, raised to 12 % for natural persons (synoptic table 2025 of the general directorate of taxes). In Togo, 7 % for legal entities and 3 % for natural persons (general tax code, version 2025, article 79). In Mali, 7 % (article 42). In Niger, 7 % (article 74). In Sénégal, 10 % on income from shares (annotated code of October 2025, article 173).
On 100 000 FCFA of gross dividend, an individual receives 88 000 FCFA after withholding for an Ivorian company and 97 000 FCFA for a Togolese company: 9 000 FCFA difference, for the same coupon. Directive No. 02/2010/CM/UEMOA was intended to harmonize the tax regime for securities in the Union. Sixteen years later, investors are still comparing different net rates.
Third gap: who receives
To be admitted to the first compartment, a company must distribute at least 20 % of its capital to the public (Droit Médias Finance). This is a floor: the remainder can remain in a stable block, and the dividend then follows the owner of the block. The BCEAO sets the standard at the Union level. In its regional balance of payments 2024, published on 11 September 2026, it notes that the primary income account deficit widened by 40,0 %, due to interest payments on public debt (+22,7 %) and dividend payments (+21,8 %).
The overall balance has returned to surplus (3 012,7 billion FCFA, after a deficit of 3 530,4 billion in 2023) and the current deficit fell from 9,4 % to 5,7 % of GDP. A useful clarification: these dividends cover all investments, listed or unlisted. They give an order of magnitude; they do not measure the share of the BRVM.
Four figures to publish each season
The dividend is public; its destination is not. Four indicators, published each year in a single table by the BRVM, the DC/BR or the issuers, would change the reading. They are calculated from notices, company accounts and the registers of account holders:
- the total dividends for the season, consolidated, with their breakdown by country and by sector;
- the net tax yield by country, for an individual and for a legal entity;
- the share of dividends paid to resident shareholders of the Union and to non-residents, company by company;
- the distribution rate (dividend relative to net income) of each issuer over five years.
My reading
A displayed yield is only one part of a dividend’s story. What these dividends represent in the monetary balance of the Union can be read in the balance of payments. Since the reform announced on 21 December 2019, the Union’s foreign exchange reserves are no longer centralized at the French Treasury, the operations account has been closed and French representatives have left the governing bodies of the BCEAO; the fixed parity with the euro and its guarantee have been maintained, subject to actual findings on the political and geopolitical ground. This is why these figures deserve a documented public debate, and not slogans.
This article is a short version of a more detailed analysis with country-by-country sources: sankofafinance.com
Omolola Yakubu
Founder of Sankofa Finance, a pan-African media dedicated to economic and financial analysis. A certified financial analyst and former accountant turned management controller, he deciphers capital markets, public debt and monetary policy across the continent with a constant commitment to rigorous, verifiable sourcing.
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