Fidson Assures Shareholders of Better Returns, Pays N75m Dividend

Fidson Healthcare Plc has assured its shareholders that in spite of the current economic challenges, the company is in a very good position to remain a leading player in the pharmaceutical industry and deliver better returns.

The Chairman of the company, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, who stated this at the company’s 18th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos, said the directors recommended a dividend of N75 million, out of the N316.76 million profit after tax (PAT) for the year ended December 31, 2016.

According to him, the company needed more funds, hence the N75 million dividend, which translated to five kobo per share. The shareholders approved the dividend and went ahead to grant the request of the directors to raise N6 billion in order to boost the working capital, realise full potential and utilise the full capacity of the company.

Ohiwerei commended shareholders and the management for the support over the years stating that, “the board is confident that the company will continue to yield good returns to the shareholders.”

He added: “The completion of our new factory and the concentration of production on the site is an important milestone for the company.”

Ohiwerei said the new manufacturing facility is one of the five facilities shortlisted for World Health Organisation (WHO) certification in Nigeria, noting that it is an ultra-modern facility with high-tech machinery for manufacturing pharmaceutical products, in compliance with global standards and WHO certification. The plant boasts of an unprecedented capacity for drug production, equipped with six production lines comprising tablets, capsules, liquids, cream and ointments, dry powder and intravenous fluids.

He disclosed that the government reviewed the policy on Common External Tariff (CET) with the introduction of import Adjustment Tariff (IAT) to address the healthcare industry’s concern over the implementation of the CET.

“They also demonstrated commitment in the patronage of local manufacturers in the procurement of locally manufactured drugs. These developments served as a great encouragement to the industry and we hope more efforts would be made in the future,” he said.

The chairman also reassured shareholders that the company would continue to strengthen its value system around good corporate governance.

“We realised that our shareholders are important and all efforts were made throughout the year to reach out to them in a bid to ensure amicable share- holder- management relationship. Our corporate governance strategy and initiatives are geared towards complying with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Corporate Governance Code,” he stated.

However, the chairman said that he would be resigning from the board of the company before the next AGM.