UNILEVER HOLDS 95th AGM, DECLARES N60.487bn TURNOVER
Juliet Uduji
Unilever Nigeria Plc has declared a turnover of N60.5 billion for the financial year ended December 2019.
In an effort to boost its profitability status, the Board and Management of Unilever Nigeria Plc. has assured the shareholders of their commitment to good corporate governance that would, in turn, drive sustainability and efficiency across every aspect of the Company’s operations.
Addressing shareholders at the 95th Annual General Meeting of the Company, the Chairman of the Board, His Royal Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe commended the shareholders for their trust and loyalty to the Company. He noted that despite the challenging business environment, which has now been complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the management at Unilever Nigeria will remain strategic in their approach to sustaining the Company’s operations to revert to profitable and sustainable growth.
The N60.5 billion revenue in the year under review represents a decline compared to N92.89bn recorded in the year ended December 2018. Profit after tax showed a decline at N7.42bn for 2019 compared to N10.55bn recorded for the year ended December 2018.
These results reflect challenging operating conditions but also the company’s decision to tighten credit terms to address exposure from trade receivables and excess stock in trade to better position the company for innovation and a return to competitive growth.
“Although we are not declaring dividend for FY 2019, we are optimistic because our results show that we made progress in some other critical areas of our operations which speaks to the fact that we are on the right path to growing our business for profitability and better returns on investment for our shareholders. Therefore, the task before the Board and Management is to drive our strategic objectives that would not only keep the business afloat but also ensure it operates efficiently.”
Achebe said.
The Company in compliance with the Federal and State government directives on social distancing had decided to hold the AGM by proxy in a bid to avoid unnecessary physical contact among attendees, as part of measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.