Omnia Holdings increases dividend pay out despite setbacks in agriculture division

Omnia Holdings delivered a resilient performance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 despite set backs in the agriculture division, which was impacted by currency issues in Zimbabwe, drought in Zambia, and the civil unrest in Mozambique.

The diversified company, propelled by its mining sector which is seeing new orders for its regional markets on the back of a rebound in copper and battery metals, achieved robust results and delivered bumper dividends.

“The agri business Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique didn't perform well,” Seelan Gobalsamy, CEO of Omnia told Business Report in an interview.

“Zimbabwe had the usual currency issues and a lot of uncertainty (and) we had some regulatory challenges and in Zambia, we saw a massive drought that impacted revenue.” 

The unrest that rocked Mozambique in 2024 and early into this year also affected Omnia. The company had to send products via Namibia into Zambia as routes through Mozambique were disturbed by the unrest, impacting working capital and profits negatively.

With strong performance from Agriculture RSA and mining segment, Omnia’s revenues for the year to the end of March grew 2.7% to R22.82 billion. Mining has emerged as Omnia’s strongest business from an outdoor projective.

“There is still a strong demand for metals, you know, the metals that drive that transition to cleanar energy, you know, the battery metals, uranium. So we are positively disposed to the mining market and we are winning new customers, renewing new customers,” explained Gobalsamy.

Headline earnings per share increased by 1% to 704 cents, while operating profit remained unchanged at R1.7bn despite the inclusion of the Chemicals restructuring costs, along with the impact of severe drought conditions and currency depreciation in Agriculture Rest of Africa.

The Mining segment delivered an improved operating margin of 12.4% from 12.1%, supported by strong performance from Mining RSA and Mining International, as well as higher throughput and efficiencies.

In the mining sector, sustained demand for critical minerals supporting the global energy transition, underpinned exploration activity and supported positive fundamentals for the explosives market.

However, geopolitical tensions and trade policy uncertainty presented ongoing risks.  

The group had a net cash balance of R1.77bn was down from R2.3bn.

The board declared a total dividend of 675 cents per share for the year. This comprises an increased ordinary dividend of 400 cents, from 375 cents the prior year, and a special dividend of 275 cents per share, returning R1.1bn to shareholders.

"Despite persistent macroeconomic headwinds, Omnia delivered sustained profitability and continued to create long-term value for shareholders. This performance reflects the strength, quality, and growing diversity of our portfolio, underpinned by a sharpened focus on manufacturing efficiency, supply chain resilience, and customer-driven innovation," Gobalsamy said

"The increased ordinary dividend payout, and special dividend declared is a clear signal of our confidence in the sustainability of our earnings and the successful execution of our growth and diversification strategy."

Looking ahead, Omnia said the outlook for its Agriculture segment remained positive, driven by expected improvements in agronomic conditions across key regions such as the proprietary Nutriology model.

Omnia said 2026 will be a significant transition year in which non-core assets and business lines will be sold, capital released and returns improved.

BUSINESS REPORT