Daily Trust Saturday

51 BUSINESSEX­TRA

- Nurudeen Oyewole, Lagos

The National Engineerin­g and Technical Company Limited (NETCO), for the first time since its establishm­ent delivered highest dividend of N750 million to its shareholde­rs, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporatio­n (NNPC).

Speaking at the company’s 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Abuja, NETCO Board Chairman, who is also NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Mallam Bello Rabiu, said the remarkable figures were made possible through sustained efforts on the part of the Company to cash in on the strong support of the Group Managing Director of the corporatio­n, Dr Maikanti Baru and the shareholde­rs.

According to Rabiu, the company made a profit before tax of N3.257billion for 2017 financial year while operating profit increased by 134 per cent, from N0.89 billion in 2016 to N2.07 billion in 2017.

The breakdown shows that the company’s revenue increased by 122 per cent from N10.13billion in the previous year to N22.46 billion in the year under review.

Speaking while receiving the cheque for the dividend, Dr Baru, commended the management of NETCO for the unpreceden­ted performanc­e.

He congratula­ted the outgoing MD of NETCO, Engineer Siky Aliyu, for leaving a legacy for his successor and expressed optimism that the company would perform better next year.

Sterling Bank Plc. has launched a new mobile banking applicatio­n known as I-invest in a bid to encourage people to build a savings and investment culture.

The new applicatio­n is supported on Android and IOS devices.

ANew Chief Marketing Officer of the bank, Mr Dapo Martins said in a statement that the applicatio­n will provide customers with secured, fast and convenient way to access investment opportunit­ies hitherto reserved for the elite.

The applicatio­n will also provide customers access an array of Treasury bill food security firm, Happy World Meal Gate (HWMG) has revealed plans to expand the five million households which it says it currently supply with free food across Africa.

The Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of the firm, Suleiman Lento made the disclosure in an interview with journalist­s in Lagos. He said HWMG has identified hunger as a major challenge in the continent and has investment­s to enable them match their investment maturities with their needs.

Other advantages of the applicatio­n include saving time instead of liaising with account officers or waiting in the bank hall. Also, any other bank customers can access the offerings through the applicatio­n. devised strategies through multi-level marketing approach to reach out to millions of families, the unemployed and other vulnerable.

Lento explained that the firm has registered about one million persons with N6400 each in Nigeria since its establishm­ent in 2016 with view to put smile on people’s faces and ensure food security. The firm’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Patrick Olayi, also explained that the firm has gone further to provide income and the requisite means to live a fulfilled life via several reward packages.

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