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PZ Cussons profit dips 53.4%, declares 50kobo per share dividend

By Anthony Otaru, Abuja
10 October 2016   |   2:11 am
PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc has announced a 53.4 per cent decrease in its profit for 2016 operations, compared to the level realised a year ago. The company posted a profit ...

PZ-Cussons

…Blames negative growth for poor returns

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc has announced a 53.4 per cent decrease in its profit for 2016 operations, compared to the level realised a year ago. The
company posted a profit of N2.13 billion for 2016, against N4.57 billion recorded in 2015.

Notwithstanding the enormous profit drop, the Board and management of the consumer products company, declared a 50kobo per share dividend amounting to N1,99 billion payable after the deduction of withholding tax against 81kobo declared last year.

The Chairman of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Chief Kolawole Jamodu, gave the details of the company’s transactions in his statement at the company’s 2016 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held last week in Abuja.

Jamodu attributed the profit dip to the negative impact of the fall in Nigeria’s domestic growth, saying it was more severe on the industrial sector, which experienced a contraction of 2.24 per cent in 2015, and declined further to 4.49 per cent first quarter of 2016.

Following this trend, the Chairman also said PZ Cussons’ consolidated revenue decreased by 4.9 per cent from N73.1 billion to N69.5 billion due to the adverse economic conditions referred above.

“In all, our balance sheet remains strong with total assets of N74.4 billion compared to N67.4 billion in the previous  year, the N1.7 billion of export rebates that are receivable from the Nigerian government mention in the prior year report are included in our total assets,” he said

He confessed that the business environment for fast Moving Consumer Goods
(FMCC) sector was extremely challenging during the period under review.

Explaining how the company was able to declare 50kobo per share in spite of the economic difficulties facing it, the Chairman disclosed that 13kobo was taken from the revenue reserves of the company added to the earlier 37kobo proposed to make up for the 50kobo per share.

The Chairman also assured the shareholders that the unclaimed dividend put at about N2billion would be paid back into the company’s accounts.

Meanwhile, shareholders have called on the Federal Government to give tax relief to production companies across board to enable them plough back
such amount into their businesses to caution the effects of foreign exchange.

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