APR shareholders approve firm’s 35kobo dividend

SHAREHOLDERS of Africa Prudential Registrars Plc, Nigeriaís first and only Registrar firm listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has endorsed the firmís N700million dividend, translating to 35 kobo dividend due to every investor of the company for the 2014.

Addressing shareholders at the companyís yearly general meeting, the Chairman of the company, Chief (Mrs) Eniola Fadayomi explained that APR Plcís dividend policy aims at rewarding shareholders by increasing their wealth, consistently.

She explained that a total dividend of Seven Hundred Million Naira N700million would be paid to shareholders.

According to the company, payment of the dividend will be made on April 10, 2015 to all shareholders on the register of members of the company as at the qualifying date of Tuesday, March 17, 2015. The Register of Members and Transfer Books of the Company was closed from Wednesday, March 18th To Friday March 20th (both dates inclusive) for the purpose of updating Register of Members eligible for the dividend payment.

Chairman added that though market performance in the first half of the year showed momentary positive runs, the second half was far less impressive. Despite the inclement operating environment, the company recorded significant gains when compared to the previous year.

Reviewing the companyís performance, the Managing Director/CEO, Peter Ashade, stated that whereas the total assets stood at N18.9 billion, having increased by 15per cent percent from N16.4billion in 2013, group revenue grew by 14per cent following selective restructuring of the companyís core functions, Investments and product developments to offer a wider range of products at different prices.

Profit before tax grew by seven percent from N1.2 billion in 2013 to N1.3 billion in 2014, while the profit after tax of N0.9 billion increased by 33per cent to N1.2 billion in 2014. Earnings Per Share Increased from N0.46 kobo to N0.61 kobo, a 33per cent growth, while Capital expenditure for the year stood at N25†million.

Ashade assured shareholders that the company remains true to her goal of becoming the leading and dominant provider of share registration services in Africa. ìAs a result, our focus for the year will be to continue to profitably grow our businesses while providing our clients and stakeholders with appropriate alternative solutions. We will strive to manage our operating costs by optimizing our processes while concurrently improving the level of service delivery to our clientsî he added.

It would be recalled that APR Plc equally paid 35 kobo dividend to shareholders for 2013 financial year, being her first year as a listed company on the NSE.