Economy
Flour Mills Raises Dividend by 20% Despite Poor FY Results
By Dipo Olowookere
On Friday, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc released its audited financial statements for the full year ended March 31, 2019.
In the results briefly analysed by Business Post, the harsh operating environment and the challenging logistics situation ctreated by the Apapa gridlocl in Lagos continued to weigh on the firm.
This was evident in the revenue generated by Flour Mills, which went down to N527.4 billion from N542.7 billion. The traffic issue raised the cost of sales of the firm to N474.1 billion from N473.9 billion, while the selling and distribution expenses jumped to N8.2 billion from N6.2 billion, with the administrative expenses staying flat at N19.4 billion, same amount used a year earlier.
However, the company’s strategy to optmise the finance costs yielded a good result as this was slashed by 30 percent to N22.9 billion from N32.7 billion in the period under consideration.
A further analysis of the financial statements by Business Post showed that during the fiscal year, the gross profit of the firm dropped to N53.4 billion from N68.8 billion, while the operating profit reduced to N32.3 billion from N48.2 billion, with investment income going down to N768.6 million from NN816.3 million.
In the year, the profit before tax went down to N10.2 billion from N16.4 billion, while the profit after tax decreased to N4 billion from N13.6 billion, with the earnings per share reducing to N1 from N4.83k.
However, as a way to boost the morale of its shareholders, the board of Flour Mills is proposing the payment of N1.20k per share as dividend for the financial year, indicating a 20 percent increase from last fiscal year. Payment of this cash reward is subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Commenting on the results, Group Chief Finance Officer of Flour Mills, Mr Anders Kristiansson, said, “Our strategy to restructure the balance sheet base and optimize the financing costs have started to yield the desired results, as the business showed increasing levels of efficiency.
“Despite ongoing pressures on consumer disposable income in many of our target categories, we continued delivered a stronger quarter 4 than last year.”
On his part, Group Managing Director of the flour miller, Mr Paul Gbededo, stated that, “We have made substantial progress this year, even in the face of an adverse and challenging business environment.
“Our growth and efficiency initiatives across our various functions and businesses have started to show anticipated gains as we continue to focus on organic sales growth and position the business for continuous profitability.”
Recall that in 2018, Flour Mills undertook a series of strategic actions designed to improve returns and deliver maximum gains for our investors. Top of such actions was the restructuring process that saw all the firm’s group businesses in the agriculture sector aligned under Golden Fertilizer company, a fully owned holding company.
According to a statement issued by company, the decision has already started to yield appreciable improvements within the group, in the areas of cost maximization and improved operational efficiency as the businesses make the most of their competitive advantage and synergies. This is further supported by the strong cost control measures that have been put in place by management within the year under review,
In the agriculture space, Flour Mills has continued to consolidate on its investments, with a strong focus on innovative and efficient use of resources.
Accordingly, the group is resizing and simplifying the operations of some of the farms which form an integral part of our backward integration strategy with a few of the smaller experimental farms being scaled-down, whereas we continue to focus on the key units.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The N3.04 billion rights issue of Regency Alliance Insurance Plc is expected to open on Monday, June 22, 2026, and close on Friday, July 3, 2026, with shareholders urged to participate.
The underwriting firm recently signed an agreement on the rights issue, with board members, management, issuing houses, legal advisers, stockbrokers, and other key stakeholders in attendance.
Regency Alliance is offering to shareholders 3,201,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at 95 Kobo per share on the basis of one new ordinary share for every five ordinary shares held.
The purpose of the fresh capital raise is to bolster the company’s solvency ratios, support business growth, and invest in digital infrastructure and new product development.
The insurance company noted that the rights issue provides an opportunity to existing shareholders to subscribe for additional shares in proportion to their current holdings, protecting them from dilution while enabling them to participate in the organisation’s future growth.
“This capital raise will give us the firepower to meet evolving risks, expand our reach, and deepen the promise we make to every policyholder; that Regency Alliance will be there when it matters most,” the acting chairman of Regency Alliance, Mr Wale Taiwo (SAN), stated.
“We are particularly encouraged by the unwavering support of our shareholders who have stood by the company through its growth journey. We urge all eligible shareholders to take advantage of this rights issue and fully exercise their rights.
“By doing so, they will not only protect their investment from dilution but also participate directly in the exciting growth opportunities that lie ahead for Regency Alliance Insurance,” he added.
Also commenting, the Managing Director of the firm, Mr Bode Oseni, said, “Regency Alliance has always prided itself on being agile, customer-focused xd, and financially sound. The proceeds from this rights issue will accelerate our digital transformation, enhance claims efficiency, and enable us to introduce innovative products tailored to SMEs, Gen Z, and other underserved segments across Nigerian and beyond. We are not merely raising capital; we are raising our ambition.”
“We remain optimistic that our shareholders will embrace this opportunity and demonstrate their confidence in the company’s future by taking up their rights. Together, we are building a strong and more competitive insurance institution,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil palm processing firm, Okitipupa Plc, and two other securities weakened by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.4 per cent on Thursday, June 18.
During the trading day, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to end at N280.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N300.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by 36 Kobo to finish at N37.00 per unit versus N37.36 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc depreciated by 23 Kobo to N86.34 per share from N86.57 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation retreated by N10.39 billion to N2.609 trillion from N2.619 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slid by 17.36 points to 4,361.09 points from 4,378.45 points.
Business Post reports that the sole price gainer for the session was Afriland Properties Plc, which improved by 65 Kobo to N16.20 per unit from N15.55 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities transacted by market participants shrank by 71.6 per cent to 792,835 units from Wednesday’s 2.8 million units, the value of securities fell by 61.8 per cent to N49.0 million from N128.3 million, while the number of deals went down by 39.4 per cent to 20 deals from 33 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 67.7 million units traded for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira free-fall against the US Dollar continued in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, June 18, losing 0.24 per cent or N3.23 to trade at N1,363.30/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,360.07/$1.
However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N19.12 to trade at N1,805.69/£1 versus midweek’s N1,824.81/£1, and gained N12.89 on the Euro to sell at N1,565.07/€1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,577.96/€1.
At the GTBank FX counter, the Naira lost N1 against the Dollar to trade at N1,373/$1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,372/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
Tightness in FX liquidity continued to pressure the local currency, contributing to a decline in the official exchange rate due to rising demand for foreign payments.
Analysts also attribute the market liquidity dynamics to the lack of substantial Open Market Operation (OMO) bill positioning by foreign portfolio investors, who are key sources of hard currency inflows for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The apex bank’s daily FX report revealed that interbank FX turnover increased to $69.918 million across 85 interbank transactions, up from $54.293 million the previous day.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) traded below $63,000 after losing 1.7 per cent to close at $62,742.28 on Thursday, as risk assets sold off worldwide, erasing the gains it made earlier in the week on the back of the US-Iran peace deal.
The pressure came from a wider retreat in markets as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returned to normal under the signed US-Iran deal and eased what had been a historic supply shock.
Attention now turns to talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Vice President JD Vance saying a 60-day clock to settle the deal’s details has started.
During the session, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.3 per cent to $68.68, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 2.7 per cent to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) slid 2.4 per cent to $0.1606, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 2.0 per cent to $576.11, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.9 per cent to $0.0826, and Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $1,696.74.
However, TRON (TRX) improved by 0.1 per cent to $0.3204, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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