Shareholders of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc today unanimously approved a total dividend pay-out of N1.34 billion representing 17kobo per share as proposed by the board of the company at its 5th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
In his welcome address at the event, the Chairman of the company, Dr. Ayoola Oba Otudeko (CFR), said that Honeywell Flour Mills remains committed to providing superior quality products for the complete satisfaction of its customers. In spite of the challenging operating environment, Otudeko said Honeywell Flour Mills will continuously improve shareholder value and return on investment.
He revealed that improvement in efficiency due to automation of several operational processes and better treasury management resulted in 18% growth in Profit After Tax (PAT) from N2.8 billion to N3.5 billion. The company also increased its Shareholders’ Fund and Total Assets by 11% and 15% to N20.6 billion and N63.8 billion respectively.
Speaking further on the company’s performance, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, said the company was able to pay shareholders the level of dividend because of the company’s increased output and aggressive push to meet rising demand across its product categories.
He noted that despite the challenge of input cost pressure, caused by increase in wheat price, the company was able to achieve a 32 per cent increase in gross profit from the N8 billion recorded last year to N10.4 billion in the period under review, due to deft management of raw material sourcing and efficient control of production cost. He thereafter, assured the shareholders of management’s commitment to sustain the company’s superior earnings.
Commenting on the company’s performance, Chief Timothy Adesiyan, President, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), commended the management of the company for its efforts to increase the value of shareholders’ investments through the expansion initiative and for proposing N1.34 billion dividend pay-out. He said shareholders are satisfied with the dividend pay-out considering the difficult operating environment. He encouraged the board and management to maintain its adherence to good corporate governance.
In his response, the National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie commended the company’s dividend policy which ensures that shareholders get dividend every year while the balance is retained to support the company’s operations.
He was also full of praises for the choice of the new Managing Director who is home grown, and has worked with the company for about 22 years. Okezie noted that the action is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to rewarding loyalty.
The National Coordinator, emphasised that the new Managing Director is in a better position to build on the good work done by his predecessor and take the company to greater levels of performance and shareholder value creation.
According to its Full Year Financial Statement which has been released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc reported an 18 per cent increase in earnings per share – from 35.86 to 42.26 kobo. While its turnover rose from N46bn in the preceding fiscal year to N55.08bn in the year under review, representing a 21 per cent growth in its turnover for the period.
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, a leading flour milling company in Nigeria, is a member-company of the Honeywell Group. It has factories in Ikeja and Apapa, Lagos.
