By Dipo Olowookere
Shareholders of a leading food and agro-allied company in the country, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, have approved the N9.23 billion dividend payout at N2.25k per ordinary share.
The cash reward was ratified by the company’s investors at the 63rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, November 9, 2023, in Lagos
However, they appealed to the board of the organisation to consider increasing the dividend payout in the future, noting that the recent performance of the company showed it could pay more dividends.
While airing their views at the gathering, attended by key stakeholders of the firm, the shareholders urged the company to maintain its focus on profitability and shareholder value creation.
Additionally, the shareholders advised maximizing the utilization of local raw materials and production inputs to boost domestic value addition.
Further, they charged the management of Flour Mills to embrace diversity, inclusion, and gender balance at all levels, stressing that there must be accelerating efforts to ensure equitable female representation on the board and executive team.
Responding to the concerns of investors at the AGM, the Vice Chairman of Flour Mills, Mr Paul Miyonmide Gbededo, thanked the shareholders for the points raised.
“Flour Mills remains as committed as ever to delivering sustainable long-term value for our shareholders while also upholding the highest standards of corporate social responsibility.
“We aim to strike the right balance between profitability and purpose. Our shareholders are our most valuable stakeholders.
“We highly appreciate their feedback and counsel which helps sharpen our focus on creating enduring shareholder wealth,” he said at the meeting.
On his part, the chief executive of Flour Mills, Mr Boye Olusanya, disclosed that, “Enhancing diversity and inclusion remains a top priority. We are accelerating efforts to ensure women are equitably represented at senior levels of our company.”
He noted that the organisation was committed to “boosting domestic value chains through local sourcing [because it] is a key element of our growth strategy. We remain committed to supporting local farmers, suppliers and partners.”
Business Post gathered that at the meeting, shareholders approved the amendment of the Company Articles to enable to holding of meetings by electronic means and also unanimously re-elected five of the company directors who were to retire by rotation. They are Mr Muhammad K. Ahmad, Mr Paul M. Gbedebo, Mr Yunus O. Saliu, Mr Folarin R.A. Williams, and Mrs Juliet Anammah.
