By Adedapo Adesanya
Shareholders of Odu’a Investment Company Limited will take their share of N320 million in dividends payable for the financial year ended December 31, 2019, after granting approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, October 7.
This happened at the 38th AGM of the company which took place at the company’s head office, Cocoa House, Ibadan under strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols of the Nigerian government.
The shareholders also approved, among other resolutions, the group and holding company consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.
According to the group chairman, Odu’a Investment Company, Mr Segun Aina, the company’s profit before tax rose by 5 per cent to N889.71 million in the year under review from N849.34 million reported in 2018.
He explained that this came from the company’s budget monitoring processes, coupled with increased productivity and reduced operating costs.
“The prudence 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,” the chairman said.
He also said with substantial investment, it has paid N1.53 billion cumulative dividends since 2015 and also rolls out an ambitious five-year Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
The company, as part of its corporate governance reforms, also got shareholders’ approval for the appointment of two each Independent Directors and Group Executive Directors to strengthen the Board which now has 11 members.
Mr Aina added the board remained positive about the company’s future. He said, “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.”
The company’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr Adewale Raji, backed up Mr Aina noting that despite the global and domestic economic challenges during the financial year that affected our revenue trajectory, the company managed to increase its PBT by 5 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 the audacious 5-year growth plan.
This entails consolidating on existing businesses and diversifying into high growth and profitable sectors of the economy to realize our strategic objectives of creating value for our 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. These include the group’s mechanized farm at Imeko, Ogun State, where 1,200 hectares of cassava is currently under cultivation with a technical partner that will feed into two 50 tonnes per day modular processing plants for the conversion of cassava tubers into High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) and High-Quality Cassava Starch (HQCS).
He also added that there are also renewed organic growth efforts at our Wemabod Limited (Real Estate) and Glanvill Enthoven Insurance Brokers & Pensions Consultants Ltd (Insurance Brokerage).
He emphasized on the group’s commitment to agricultural transformation to address food security, export earnings, job creation, accelerating industrialization and lifting the rural economy.
He disclosed that 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 agric investment company has already identified focused food crops, cash crops, livestock and agriculture processing that will guide its investment decisions. SWAgCo will spin-off SPVs that will bring about profitable economic growth and social impact of job creation and lifting the rural economy of their locations.
Mr Raji concluded in his outlook for the future that the group will focus its strategy in critical essential sectors of the economy like food and manufacturing, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, logistics, ICT/digital, etc which are all well covered in the new 2021-2025 strategic plan.
Dipo Olowookere