Caverton Records 328% Profit Growth, Rewards Shareholders with 15k Dividend

Shareholders of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, (COSG), an indigenous offshore logistic services provider, yesterday approved the dividend of 15 kobo per ordinary share recommended for the year ended December 31, 2017. The shareholder gave the approval at the annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

Caverton, which was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), four years ago, grew profit after tax (PAT) by 328 percent from N612.28million in 2016 to N2.62billion in 2017.

The management of COSG was shrewd in cost management in the review financial year to achieve a robust bottom-line as revenue only grew marginally by 6.4 per cent to N20.54billion in 2017 compared to N19.31billion recorded in 2016.

Though shareholders of expressed the opinion that their company could do better in the years ahead, they were unanimous in applauding the Board of Directors for paying a dividend of 15kobo per share.

Mr. Moses Ogundeji of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) hailed the company for paying the dividend but urged the board to make the largesse better subsequently.

Another shareholder, Mr. Patrick Ajudua , however differs, said a dividend of 15kobo per share out of a earning per share (EPS) of 77 kobo was not good enough. He,however, commended the company for the excellent performance of its marine business, which he said must be given a greater attention.

But Mr. Norna Awoh, another of the shareholders of the had a reservation on the ability of the company to sustain the dividend, saying the group’s business was capital intensive and that needed all the capital available to grow at the moment.

The Chairman of COSG, Mr. Aderemi Makanjuola said stability of exchange rate and increase in revenue during the year impacted positively on the company’s bottom-line.

“Our performance reflected continued effective execution of our bold strategy as we innovate and break barriers to boost our bottomline in building a Client-centric Group and generate sustainable long-term value to our shareholders,” Makanjuola added.

Makanjuola expressed confident that Caverton would improve on its revenue as well as bottomline. According to him, more contractors signed by the company in 2017 would boost its revenue. The chairman disclosed that COSG was able to add 11 new helicopters to its fleets by April 2018, adding that would further boost its revenue base.

Part of COSG’s strategy to weather the current challenging business environment of the past couple of years has been to continue to focus on cost efficiency without compromising on its safety standards.