Guinness Nigeria has declared a revenue of ₦206.88billion for the financial year ended June 30, 2022, against ₦160.42billion it declared in the corresponding period of 2021, translating to a 29 per cent increase. Dr Omobola Johnson, the Board Chairman of the beverage company, made this known at the company’s 72nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Johnson said that in spite of economic headwinds, the company posted an impressive and laudable performance with strong growth in all key categories. She said that the company’s profit before tax grew by 310 percent from ₦5.7billion to ₦23.6billion, while profit for the year increased from ₦1.25billion to ₦15.6billion in 2022. A dividend of ₦7.14 for every ordinary share upon approval.
She said that the company’s strategy as a pioneer Total Beverage Alcohol (TBA) player and on delivering on margin accretive brands led to the remarkable performance within the financial year. “The remarkable profit improvement, reflects amongst other factors, the benefits of price increases taken across all categories of our portfolio. The forward looking strategic investments we have made and the array of innovative brands we have in the pipeline, makes us well positioned for further growth in 2023 financial year,” she said.
Johnson reiterated the company’s commitment to integrating social responsibility into its business strategy. She said that the company was fully aligned with Diageo’s global strategy-Society 2030: Spirit of Progress; underpinned by three main pillars.
According to her, the pillars include promoting positive drinking, inclusion and diversity, and the pioneering grain to glass sustainability. “Significantly, public health and social welfare issues have been addressed with the establishment and continued support of Guinness eye hospitals, water of life project and the Guinness Nigeria Plan W- empowerment programme for women. As part of our ongoing strategy toward amplifying our diversity and inclusion units, nine women graduated from the Diageo Bar Academy (DBA) in May 2022 after intense weeks of training and skill acquisition,” she said.
Johnson said that the company remained optimistic and resilient to take the current and future business challenges head-on, sustain its profitability and maintain its rightful place in a highly competitive market.
Mr Rotimi Odusola, the company’s Secretary, announced that dividend payment upon approval would be made on October 26 for shareholders whose names appeared on the register of members on September 23.
Odusola said that some dividend warrants had been returned to the registrar as unclaimed, while some have neither been presented to the banks for payment nor to the registrars for revalidation. “A list of such unclaimed dividends will be circulated and notice is given to all shareholders to open bank accounts for the purpose of dividend payment,” he said.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
