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Conoil unveils expansion agenda, rewards shareholders with 100 kobo dividend

By Babs Odukoya
21 December 2009   |   10:00 pm
By Moses Ebosele CONOIL Plc at the weekend said it has commenced multimillion naira expansion agenda aimed at boosting distribution of aviation fuel, lubricants and retail outlets. The project, according to the company will entail building new lubricant blending plans in lagos and Port Harcourt , procurement of modern oil filling equipment, consolidating its strength in jet A1 market, upgrading of existing retail outlets and construction of additional one stop mega stations to achieve a wider spread across the country.

Chairman of the company, Dr Mike Adenuga, in his address at Conoil’s yealy general meeting at the weekend said the renewed investment in modern infrastructures would enable Conoil to optimize emerging opportunities in the industry, set new standards in service delivery and enhance its bottom line for improved shareholder value.

The company paid a dividend of 100 kobo on every 50 kobo ordinary share for the financial year ended December 31, 2008.

Conoil also declared turnover of N124.3billion which represent 43 per cent increase over the N86.8billion recorded in the previous year. Gross profit stood at N3.28billion against N3.76billion recorded last year while net asset dropped from N6.14billion to N5.59billion.

Represented by a Director, Dr M.E.Omatsola, Adenuga said all is set by the company to deliver improved result for its shareholders.

He added that the company is installing new blending plants to complement the existing one at its lagos depot coupled with the purchase of state of the art lubricant blending machines comprising two new Multifil Automatic Filling machines and four auto-labellers.

Already, according to Adenuga, an additional plant has been installed at Apapa which will double the current filling capacity per annum while a new plan is being built in Port Harcourt . The new filling lines are expected to increase production capacity for four-pack sizes by 100 per cent and 50 per cent for drum filling.

The auto-labeller, he pointed out are a new addition that will save valuable time and enhance efficiency.

The company is also rolling out a number of new products from its lube plants which is expected to create additional income stream for the business.

Among them are Quatro 2T, 1-1litre pack of Quatro Ultra, Quatro Premium, hydraulic and compressor oils in 25-litre packs

Conoil said under its sustainable project, the co mpany is pumping a lot of fund into expanding its retail network to ensure that its products and services “reach the doorsteps of customers in every part of the country”.

A statement by the company over 300 filling stations are presently being upgraded while negotiations are on to acquire another 250 stations in strategic parts of the country.

The company said it is building one mega station in each state capital throughout the country as part of measures to ensure its products and services get to the doorsteps of customers in every part of the country.

Adenuga said “The target is to have 30 mega stations earmarked for varius parts of the country. Work on ten of such retail outlets has reached an advanced stage while existing stations are being upgraded simultaneously to meet international standards.”

In his submission, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu advised management of Conoil to prepare itself adequately to take advantage of the proposed deregulation by the Federal Government.

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