Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc on Thursday unanimously approved the N1.40 proposed by the company as dividend per share for the year ended December 31, 2012.
The shareholders, who gave their approval at the company’s 88th Annual General Meeting in Lagos, also commended the company for its performance in the year under consideration.
They added that the company was able to pay a dividend that was at par with last year’s despite the harsh operating conditions that most companies were facing.
Despite the harsh operating environment, the company posted a revenue of N55.5bn for the 2012 financial year, representing an increase of N70m compared to N54.7bn recorded the previous year.
Its gross profit also increased to N21.6bn, up from N20bn in the similar period of 2011.
In his speech, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Nnaemeka Achebe, explained that the company’s operating profit stood at N8.8bn, higher than N8.1bn at the end of the 2011 financial year, while earnings per share also rose significantly.
He said, “Your company defied the challenging national and economic circumstances with strategic actions and investments which enabled it to weather the storms and deliver continued value to all its stakeholders.
“Unilever has emerged a stronger business and we are more than ever fit to win in the market place, and our 2012 performance has positioned us to further withstand adverse business operating environment into the future.”
He explained that the company had inaugurated a transformation initiative, aimed at facilitating the cultural shift, which according to him, is critical to the realisation of the overall goal of the company.
Achebe explained that part of the initiative was strengthening the capacity of its key stakeholders, especially the suppliers and key distributors to enable them to be part of the transformation agenda, adding that it also invested in additional machinery to enhance production capacities and efficiencies.
He also assured shareholders that the measures taken so far to transform the company would enhance its profitability as well as enhance shareholders’ value on investment.
“Our sustained investments will continue to yield strong results and better innovations which will enable us to continue to meet and exceed consumer expectations at all times,” he stated.
In its result for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, the company announced a profit after tax of N1.26bn
Its revenue was up by 1.1 per cent from N14.07bn in March 2012, to N14.233bn in the period under consideration, while net assets grew by 12.6 per cent to N11.308bn, up from N10.043bn recorded the preceding year.
The result showed that its cash flow from operating activities grew by 45.1 per cent from N1.256bn in March 2012, to N1.822bn in 2013.