SKLD Integrated Services Limited has redeemed its Commercial Paper and repaid all subscribers.
This marks the successful conclusion of SKLD’s debut in the Nigerian debt capital market, which saw the firm raising N553 million in a programme jointly sponsored by Coronation Merchant Bank Limited and Afrinvest Capital Limited.
SKLD Integrated Services Limited is Nigeria’s educational supplies company and a provider of relief products and solutions to local and international organizations.
In a statement, the company said it leveraged the successful Commercial Paper programme to achieve significant growth and success, including the expansion of its retail footprint with the opening of its Surulere store to cater to the teeming population in Lagos Mainland.
The company also used the fund to diversify its offerings to cater to office and lifestyle categories, bringing in new customer demography.
“We grew our customer base in the humanitarian aid supply segment by over 50percent with a turnover growth of over 70percent and drove the expansion of our school uniform supplies business from 18 cities and 380 schools to cover 24 cities and 500 schools in 2022.
“We expanded our local production capacity and expanded our partnership engagement with foreign suppliers for raw materials whilst furthering our pathway to import substitution by increasing the output of our domestic production team and bolstering our local specialized production infrastructure.
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“We strengthened our supply chain operations by upgrading our warehousing facility to cater to the exponential growth we are experiencing in our customer base and trading volumes. Our customer count grew by over 20percent in FY 2022. As a result, the company has strong momentum and is well positioned for continued growth in the future,” the statement said.
It noted that going forward, “SKLD intends to pursue further capital raise opportunities to support its growth strategy. The company is committed to delivering value to its shareholders and stakeholders and is confident in its ability to continue executing on its business plan”.
The statement quoted the Manging Director of SKLD Integrated Services Limited, Temilola Adepetun as saying, “We are thrilled to have fully redeemed our commercial paper and repaid our subscribers, and we are grateful for the support and confidence of the market.
“This success is a testament to the strength of our business and our commitment to delivering value to our stakeholders. We look forward to pursuing further growth opportunities and continuing to execute our business plan. SKLD would continue to tap into the domestic capital market and take advantage of market conditions to exponentially grow its business.”
SKLD Integrated Services Limited, founded in 2000, pioneered one-stop retail shopping for all forms of school wears, accessories, stationery and a wide range of other supplies. The Company provides top quality, affordable and durable school wear ranging from school uniforms, sport wears, blazers, sweaters, shoes and other accessories for different ages and categories of school pupils.
The Company leverages its e-commerce platform and network of seven (7) retail outlets and 5 other business locations across 6 states in Nigeria to drive wholesale and retail. The Company has partly backward integrated its value chain since 2016 and has built local capacity for the production of school uniforms, safety apparel, corporate apparel and functional wear. The Company expanded its services to include the supply of humanitarian/relief products to International Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Humanitarian, Donor and Social Impact Organisations that fund, support and operate initiatives targeted at internally displaced persons and communities affected by conflict or disasters. SKLD is a manufacturing and trading power house.
