By Rukayat Adeyemi
Shareholders of Africa Prudential Plc., on Thursday unanimously approved a total dividend of N900 million declared by the company for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2023.
They gave their approval at the company’s 11th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dividend translated to 45k per share.
At the event, a shareholder, Mr Adeleke Olajimeji, praised the board of directors and management of the company for coming up with the dividend in spite of a challenging operating environment.
Oladimeji urged the company to reduce its administrative cost to the bearest minimum in line with the current economic realities.
Mrs Bisi Bakare, the National Coordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, applauded the company for being the only listed registrar on the nation’s bourse.
Bakare urged the company to explore more opportunities for enhanced growth and development.
Another shareholder, Mr Patrick Ajudua, equally hailed the board of directors and and management of the company for resilience.
Ajudua urged the company to be more innovative and creative to withstand economic challenges.
Addressing the shareholders, the Chairman of the company, Mrs Eniola Fadayomi, said that the company remained focused on transformation.
“Our total assets grew to N22.9 billion, representing 19 per cent increase over the previous year’s figure of N19.2 billion.
“This growth is a testament to the priority we place on meeting shareholders’ expectations,” she said.
Fadayomi said that the company would continue to find new ways to deliver enhanced value to its stakeholders.
“In line with our transformation journey, the launch of our new investment solution product, INVEARN, a one-stop shop for your capital market needs, highlights how we continue to find new ways to deliver value that creates a positive impact within the capital market space,” she said.
Ms Catherine Nwosu, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Africa Prudential, assured the shareholders of sustainable growth and development.
Nwosu attributed the drop in the company’s performance indices to challenges in the economy such as fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange instability and high cost of doing business.
She assured the shareholders that the company would ensure sustainable growth through innovation and creation of customer-centric products.
“There are a lot of opportunities in the capital market, the NGX has recorded growth more than it did in the entire 2023.
“It shows you that the opportunities are enormous. The Monetary Policy Rate today is at 24.5 per cent; so, government is trying to encourage Foreign Direct Investments.
“The more the capital market activities, the better for the registrar business,” she said.
On unclaimed dividends, Nwosu attributed the rise in the figure to identity management issues.
She said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in collaboration with registrars had embarked on grassroots mobilisation and awareness across the country to address the issue.
“A lot of awareness is being created to address unclaimed dividends in the market.
“Before the end of 2024, SEC must have visited the six geo-political zones in the country,” Nwosu said.
On her key priorities, she said that her emphasis would be on people, technology and processes.
The managing director said that she would focus on the three areas to achieve the desired growth and development.
“If you get the right people in place, the business will grow as expected.
“We are going to use technology to drive growth and development.
“We will also embrace adoption of Blockchain technology in the next three to five years, once it is approved by SEC,” she added.
The managing director said that the company had made remarkable progress with its ambition by actively pursuing strategic partnerships and collaborations to expand its market reach and offerings.
“We are also forging alliances with leading institutions and industry stakeholders; the company has been able to leverage synergies to access new opportunities across diverse sectors,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the company posted a profit after tax of N962 million during the period under review, against N1.49 billion in 2022.
Its gross earnings stood at N3.96 billion against N4.13 billion in 2022. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Ijeoma Popoola
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