Société des Eaux Minérales du Cameroun (SEMC), a subsidiary of Société Anonyme des Boissons du Cameroun (SABC), has announced a stock split of its shares listed on the Central African Stock Exchange (Bvmac). This operation, approved by shareholders, aims to increase the number of shares in circulation without changing the company's share capital.
Specifically, the nominal value of each share will decrease from 10,000 FCFA to 625 FCFA. As a result, each shareholder will receive 16 new shares for each old share held. This split will not affect the overall value of each shareholder's stake, but it will increase the total number of shares in circulation from 192,473 to 3,079,568. SEMC's share capital will remain unchanged at 1.924 billion FCFA.
A stock split is a strategy often used by listed companies to make their shares more affordable for small investors. By reducing the unit price of the share, more investors can participate in the company's capital. SEMC has stated that this transaction will not create additional value for shareholders but will increase the stock's liquidity on the market.
On the Bvmac, SEMC shares are currently trading at around 49,000 FCFA. The company hopes that this split will improve the negotiability of the stock, whose liquidity indicator is currently low (around 0.01).
In 2025, SEMC recorded a net profit of 899.5 million FCFA, up from 772.2 million FCFA the previous year. The Board of Directors has proposed the payment of a gross dividend of 800 FCFA per share for the 2025 financial year. The company plans to keep nearly 1.8 billion FCFA in retained earnings, out of a total distributable profit of more than 2 billion FCFA.
Founded on January 16, 1979, SEMC is the first Cameroonian company to exploit and bottle natural mineral water. It began marketing Source Tangui natural mineral water in October 1983. SEMC is a subsidiary of SABC, which is part of the Castel Group.
SEMC, which markets the Vitale and Tangui water brands, saw its turnover increase to 10.1 billion FCFA in 2024. Despite an increase in turnover, SEMC's net profit fell to 772.2 million FCFA in 2024 due to an increase in several expense items, including transport, external services and salaries.
