By Dipo Olowookere
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc have approved the payment of 50 kobo per share for the 2017 business year.
This amounts to N2.9 billion with payment to be made on Friday, May 11, 2018.
The approval for the cash dividend payment was given on Thursday at the conglomerate’s 93rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Shell Hall of the Muson Center in Onikan, Lagos.
The meeting, which started by 11am, was attended by shareholders of the company from across the country.
Chairman of Unilever Nigeria, Mr Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, who is the Obi of Onitsha, said he was impressed with the performance of the company in the year under review.
He said the firm will continue to expand and penetrate more markets, expressing optimism that the company will churn out good results in the 2018 financial year.
According to him, Unilever remains confident about the future of the company in the long term in Nigeria.
The monarch, while allaying fears of shareholders of the proposed plan to sell the Blue Band brand of the firm, said Unilever Nigeria has no plan to delist its shares from the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The parent company of Unilever Nigeria, Unilever United Kingdom, had expressed its intention to sell its Blue Band margarine business and all assets attached or deployed in connection to the business to Sigma Bidco B.V, an entity incorporated by KKR & Co LP in a deal believed to worth about $8 billion.
At the AGM yesterday, shareholders of Unilever Nigeria gave the board the go ahead to sell the brand to KKR & Co LP.
According to Chairman of Unilever Nigeria, “As we continue to focus on the right initiatives to delight our consumers, drive the penetration of our brands into all market segments and build strong brand equity, we trust that these efforts will continue to yield positive results to the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Speaking also at the meeting, shareholders of the firm commended the board and management for the 2017 results.
In the 2017 financial statements of Unilever Nigeria considered yesterday by the shareholders, the firm increased its profit for the year by 143 percent, closing at N7.5 billion in 2017 versus N3.1 billion in 2016.
Its profit before tax also saw a broad growth of 173 percent, finishing at N11.2 billion in the period under review compared with N4.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.
According to the financial statements, the revenue generated by the company appreciated by 30 percent to N90.8 billion as at December 31, 2017 from N69.8 billion achieved as at December 31, 2016.
The gross profit of the firm stood at N28.9 billion as at December 31, 2017 versus N20.3 billion as at December 31, 2016.
In addition, its operating profit finished at N12.9 billion in the period under review compared with N5.8 billion in 2016.
Adedapo Adesanya