Gbenro Adesina
The Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Dr Segun Aina, has declared N889.71million profit before tax for the year 2019 explaining that the profit made in 2019 was 5 per cent higher compared with 2018 Profit Before Tax, N849.34million.
Aina declared this yesterday at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which took place at Cocoa House, Ibadan under special arrangements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pointing out that the company has approved the payment of cash dividend of N320million to its Shareholders, Aina noted that the prudency of management and its budget monitoring processes coupled with increased efficiency and productivity reduced operating costs and boosted profitability of the company in the year under review.
He assured shareholders that “ … with the new Vision To be a World Class Conglomerate and the ambitious financial targets, the Board remains positive about the company’s future and will continue to work closely with the management and provide the needed oversight, guidance and strategic direction”.
At the meeting, the shareholders approved the group and holding company consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2019, as well as the appointment of two each Independent Directors and Group Executive Directors to strengthen the Board, which now has 11 members, among other resolutions passed.
In his speech, the company’s Group Managing Director and CEO, Adewale Raji, stated that despite the global and domestic economic challenges that affected the company’s revenue trajectory during the financial year, the company managed to increase its PBT by five per cent compared to 2018.
He assured shareholders of better performance in ensuing years as the new Board and the Management team had at a recent strategy retreat mapped out a new course to deliver on an audacious five year growth plan.
This entails consolidating on existing businesses and diversifying into high growth and profitable sectors of the economy to realise the company’s strategic objectives of creating value for its shareholders and delivering social impact to the South West States.
The GMD spoke on some of the company’s new foray into the Oil and Gas upstream sector and Agriculture with processing component.
This include the Group’s mechanised farm at Imeko, Ogun State, where 1,200 hectares of cassava is currently under cultivation with a technical partner that would feed into two 50ton/day modular processing plants for the conversion of cassava tubers into High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) and High Quality Cassava Starch (HQCS).
There are also renewed organic growth efforts at our Wemabod Limited (Real Estate) and Glanvill Enthoven Insurance Brokers & Pensions Consultants Ltd (Insurance Brokerage).
He emphasised on the Group’s commitment to Agricultural transformation to address food security, export earnings, job creation, accelerating industrialisation and lifting rural economy.
The Group had recently incorporated South West Agriculture Company Limited (SWAgCo) to mid-wife the agriculture transformation of the South West strictly on sound private sector principles and strategic partnerships.
This Agriculture investment company has already identified focused food crops, cash crops, livestock and agriculture processing that would guide its investment decisions.
SWAgCo would spin-off SPVs that would bring about profitable economic growth and social impact of job creation and lifting the rural economy of their locations.
Raji concluded in his outlook for the future that the Group would focus its strategy in critical essential sectors of the economy like food and manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceutical.
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