By Dipo Olowookere
Shareholders of Geregu Power Plc will get a final dividend of N8 per share from the company for the fiscal year, which ended on December 31, 2022.
A statement from the power-generating firm disclosed that the dividend is for “shareholders whose names appear in the register of members as of the close of business on February 27, 2023.”
However, the cash reward is subject to appropriate withholding tax and approval of investors at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be announced later. The payment date, according to the disclosure, would be made known to shareholders later.
The company is paying this dividend amid a 48.5 per cent decline in the profit before tax in the period under review to N15.2 billion from the N29.5 billion reported in the 2021 accounting year, and as the profit before tax fell by 50.5 per cent to N10.2 billion from N20.6 billion.
A look at the top line of the results showed that the revenue generated by the firm in the period under review declined by 33.0 per cent to N47.6 billion from N71.0 billion in the preceding year.
Geregu Power blamed the significant fall in its turnover on a nationwide force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited on the Trans-Forcados pipeline, and its consequent effects on the Forcados oil terminal, gas supplies to the plant by its primary gas supplier ceased from July 17, 2022.
It was stated that the maintenance works on the pipelines were completed at the end of November 2022, and gas supplies and normal operations have since resumed.
Business Post observed that the decline in the revenue impacted negatively on the company’s gross profit despite a sharp cut in the cost of sales to N24.5 billion from N37.6 billion. The gross profit closed at N23.1 billion versus N33.3 billion in 2021.
The administrative expenses of the power company were relatively flat at N4.7 billion amid a huge fall in the other income to N157.3 million from N1.7 billion on the back of a low foreign exchange gain.
