Nigerian Breweries Shareholders Laud Performance, Approve Dividend
Shareholders of Nigerian Breweries Plc have commended the board and management of the company on the 2016 financial performance that led to the payment of N28.8 billion dividend. The shareholders, who spoke at the 71st annual general meeting (AGM) of the company held in Lagos, noted that the company’s performance in spite of the challenging operating environment, showed its resilience.
For instance, Chief Sola Abodunrin and Chief Shotunde Shopeju expressed confidence that the company remains in good stead to weather the present storm and deliver good returns to shareholders in the future.
“I congratulate the company for remaining strong even in the storm. The shareholders are happy that the company is always coming up with new initiatives to bring good harvest and returns,” Shopeju said.
Another shareholder, Pastor Williams Adebayo from Abeokuta, Ogun State, congratulated the company for the 70th year anniversary and hailed it for creating jobs for thousands of Nigerians through its local sourcing initiatives.
The proposal for shareholders to receive their either as cash or additional shares was also approved by the shareholders. Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of Nigerian Breweries, Chief Kola Jamodu, informed the shareholders that the company has declared a total dividend of N28.2 billion, which translates to N3.58 per share. Shareholders have the option to choose between a cash payment or the conversion of their dividend to ordinary shares with the approval of the scrip issue.
According to him, the operating environment in 2016 was very challenging especially from an input cost, foreign exchange and purchasing power perspectives.
“Our volume growth was in the mid-single digit region, coupled with the price increases that we implemented positively impacted our revenue growth. The positive results we achieved in 2016 were helped in no small measure by our Cost Leadership Agenda through which we focused on being better with revenue management, optimizing costs and a continuous process of consumer value engineering,” he said.