By Dipo Olowookere
The management of UPDC Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to putting smiles on the faces of its shareholders by giving them value for their investment in the company.
Speaking last Friday with some capital market stakeholders at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited via the Facts Behind the Figures platform, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of UPDC, Mrs Folakemi Fadahunsi, said the firm intends to start paying dividends to shareholders, though after improving the cash flow.
She explained that the decline in the revenue of the organisation in the first half of this year was due to the tough business environment as well as the impact of the business environment on consumers’ purchasing power.
“UPDC’s half-year performance reflects the anticipated impact of the company’s internal restructuring on performance.
“We were able to record a significant reduction in its finance cost for the first half of the year and the full effect of our management’s refinancing initiatives is expected to be fully reflected in the full-year result following the success of our bond repayment in April 2021.
“We will try to improve cash flow and ultimately start paying dividends to shareholders,” she disclosed at the event also attended by Business Post.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UPDC, Mr Odunayo Ojo, said following the conclusion of the company’s restructuring in the first half of the year, the management will focus on its key strategic initiatives which include; property development, development management and other real estate advisory services, disposal of low-yielding investment properties and existing inventory, sale of Festival Hotel at Festac and asset management.
Whilst explaining that UPDC has established a development track record commission of diverse asset mix in the retail, commercial residential and hospitality sectors, Mr Ojo said that the company distributed its stake in UPDC REIT to shareholders in 2020, giving UPDC shareholders direct stake in UPDC REIT Plc.
Earlier, the host of the virtual programme, Mr Olumide Bolumole, the Divisional Head of Listings Business at the NGX, applauded the organisation for using the platform to give vital information to the market.
He said the market is driven by timely, relevant, and accurate information as interactions with the market are vital for transparency, price discovery and overall performance of securities.
While further commending UPDC, Mr Bolumole expressed delight at the significant milestone UPDC achieved with the successful conclusion of the N16 billion rights issue last year, proceeds of which were used to strengthen the capital base and position the company for growth.
“At the exchange, we remain committed to helping issuers derive great value from their interaction with the market.
“By positioning ourselves as the African Exchange of choice, we continue to implement policies aimed at strengthening the corporate governance of our listed companies and providing products that are aligned to investors’ requirements in a fair and orderly market,” he stated.
