Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, Odu’a Investment Company Limited recorded group profit after tax of N5.203 billion for the 2020 fiscal year.
This is an increase of 11.5 percent over the N4.665 billion profit in 2019.Odu’a group is owned by Oyo,Osun,Ogun,Ondo,Ekiti and Lagos states.
Addressing shareholders through virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) zoomed to other shareholders covering all the owner states from its head office, Cocoa House, Ibadan, the Chairman, Segun Aina said the board approved a dividend of N364 million to its shareholders which is an increase of 14 percent over previous year.
Aina said that the board’s continued focus on audacious 5-year growth plan 2021-2025 would drive the group to become a world class conglomerate, ensure sustainable returns to all stakeholders and enhance the legacy for future generations.
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The group business, he stated, would further be supported with new world practices, technology and policies and incentives to achieve its growth strategy.
“This strategy of Sweat, Revive and Create (SRC-2025) is pinned on the strategic pillars of good governance and reporting, people and culture transformation, investment excellence, growth and expansion, and profitability and efficiency to sweat the existing assets, revive inactive entities and create new businesses” he added.
The company’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Adewale Raji, stated that the company experienced headwinds of the 2020 global Covid-19 pandemic particularly in its hospitality and real estate segments.
He noted that the revenue generated was a quantum leap up by 112percent from N1.809 billion in the financial year 2019 to N3.842 billion in 2020.
According to him, the company’s PBT increased dramatically to N3.75 billion from N890 million in 2019, so a sizeable chunk of this PBT is a N2.63 billion gain from investment properties revaluation which it stripped puts the net PBT at N1.12 billion that represent a 26 percent over the 2019 performance of N890 million.
He explained that the dividend of N364 million for the 2020 makes it seven consecutive years that the company is declaring and paying dividends to shareholders.
The GMD revealed that the company had made a landmark achievement by winning a sizable percentage of BITA marginal oil field that was part of the recent DPR 2020 Marginal Oil Field bid round for which it has fully paid its award signature bonus.
Raji however expressed optimism that the future is bright for the group on account of on-going investment drive and initiative in its priority sectors of real estate, hospitality, agriculture, energy, logistics and e-commerce, healthcare, financial services and ICT/digital.
Strategic partnerships, he stressed, remained the cardinal platform for the multi-sector presence that is the nucleus of the group’s SRC-2025 strategy.
