(Business in Cameroon) – French company Geocoton, a former shareholder of Cameroon’s cotton development firm Sodecoton, received a total of CFA127.5 million in dividends between 2021 and 2023, according to the company’s latest financial report.
No dividends were paid to Geocoton for the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years. The entire amount was distributed in 2023 as a single payment representing the group’s total earnings over the period. The report does not specify whether the French company received additional dividends for 2024, a year when Sodecoton’s net profit rose sharply to CFA5.4 billion.
During the same period, the Cameroonian government, Sodecoton’s majority shareholder, collected CFA1.33 billion in dividends. These payments were made in line with Article 146 of the OHADA Uniform Act, which sets a nine-month deadline after the close of each fiscal year for dividend distribution.
Geocoton’s exit marks the end of several decades of French participation in the Cameroonian cotton company’s ownership. The group, which held 30% of Sodecoton’s shares alongside the state and the Société musulmane d’investissement du Cameroun (Smic), sold its stake to the government for a total of CFA46 billion.
This transaction increased the state’s shareholding to nearly 89%, up from 59% previously. Smic, controlled by businessman Baba Ahmadou Danpullo, retains 11% but is also negotiating its withdrawal.
Beyond the figures, Geocoton’s departure underscores Cameroon’s gradual reassertion of control over a strategic northern industry long influenced by foreign technical and financial partners.
