The Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc, Kano, on Tuesday announced 40 kobo per share dividend to shareholders, same amount it declared in 2013, assuring its shareholders of increased dividends in 2015.
Sani Umar, deputy managing director of the company, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Umar, who spoke at the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the company held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, said that efforts would be made by the company to improve its earnings in the current fiscal period.
“I want to assure our shareholders that by next year the dividends we will declare will be much higher than what we have declared now,” Umar said.
He explained that the company faced some challenges which contributed to the fact that the dividends for the shareholders remained the same 40 kobo as it was in the previous year.
“Apart from the security challenges, we have the issue of power, which has been there for so many years.
“We are making plans to invest in new generating plants that will give us more efficient means of operating at a lower cost.
“The challenges are more or less common to all the industries that are operating, especially to those in the Northern part of the country.
“We are looking into so many ways of improving our operations so that we can serve our customers and members better.
“We hope that by next year things will be much better than what we have this year,” he said.
Commenting on the company’s performance during the period, Shokpeju Adetutu, a member of the Domicile Shareholders Association of Nigeria, commended the firm for being able to declare dividend for its shareholders.
Adetutu said that the flour producing company had remained afloat in the industry in the past 25 years, compared to other companies in the region.
She, therefore, urged shareholders to invest in the firm, saying, “I am expecting that by next year, there will be more bonuses for us from the company.”
