Northern Nigeria Flour Mills proposes N26.7m dividend payout from N64.6m full year profit -

The Directors of Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc (NNFM) will recommend to shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting the declaration of a total of N26.73million representing a dividend of 15kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each.

This is contained in the company’s annual report for the year ended March 31, 2020, released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

NNFM is 47percent owned by individuals and institutions in Nigeria and 53percent owned by Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc which is the parent Company and ultimate controlling party is Excelsior Shipping Company Limited, a company registered in Liberia.

A further look at the ownership structure shows Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc owns 94,545,159 units of NNFM shares, representing 53.06percent of its 178,200,000 outstanding shares. Northern Nigeria Investment Limited owns 12,955,000 units or 7.27percent; Dantata Investment & Securities Limited owns 11,661,114 units or 6.54 percent; while other individuals and institutional shareholders account for 59,038,727 units or 33.13percent.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc pre-tax profit for the year in review increased to N120.67million from a pre-tax loss of N52.41million in 2019.

The company grew after tax profit for the year to N64.63million from an after tax loss of N31.69million in 2019. Its full year revenue grew to N8.84billion from a low of N4.14billion in 2019; while operating profit increased to N562.19million from N527.86million in 2019.

The proposed dividend, if approved by the shareholders of the company, is subject to deduction of appropriate withholding tax.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc was incorporated in Nigeria with interests in milling of wheat, maize and sorghum. The directors believe that there is no intention or threat from any source to curtail significantly the Company’s lines of business in the foreseeable future.

Basic earnings per share increased to 36 kobo against Basic loss per share of 18 kobo in 2019. The share exchanges at N 4.3 per share on the NSE.

The Company operates in Kano State, Nigeria. There have been no material changes to the nature of the Company’s business from the prior year.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.