Shareholders of Fidson approve 25 kobo dividend
By Kayode Tokede
Shareholders of Fidson Healthcare Plc, the leading indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Nigeria, will receive a dividend of 25 kobo per share.
This was unanimously approved by the shareholders at the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), which held on last Wednesday at the company’s head office in Lagos.
This dividend is an improvement on the 15 kobo per share paid in the 2019 financial year.
It was also reported that the company recorded a turnover of N18.28 billion for the year ended 31st December 2020, which represents an increase of 30per cent compared to the N14.06 billion revenue in 2019.
In the same vein, operating profit grew by 38per cent between 2019 and 2020, while profit after tax also increased from N407.19 million in 2019 to N1.21 billion in 2020, an increase of 196per cent.
In his remarks, the Founder and Managing Director of Fidson Healthcare Plc., Dr. Fidelis Ayebae, added that the improved performance of the organization was largely the combined result of volume growth on key product lines and improved efficiency in her supply chain. “As an organization, we are committed to intensifying focus on these performance drivers going forward,” he added.
“This stellar performance has further strengthened our position as a leader in the healthcare industry. From inception (in 1995), we have shown commitment to offering customers the highest quality healthcare products and services in our relentless pursuit to becoming the leading pharmaceutical company in Africa,” – Dr. Fidelis Ayebae
One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of three newly appointed directors to shareholders. The new directors are Dr. Vincent Ahonkhai, Mr. Ekwunife Okoli and Mr. Ola Ijimakin. While Dr. Ahonkhai and Mr. Okoli were appointed as Independent Non-Executive Directors, Mr. Ola Ijimakin was appointed Executive Director, Commercial. These new directors were unanimously elected to the board while retiring Directors were also re-elected by the shareholders. The chairman of the Board Mr. Segun Adebanji (FCA )explained that the three highly professional and accomplished new members of the Board will contribute immensely to the quality of Board deliberations and the achievement of the Company’s strategic objectives.
Shareholders also expressed their satisfaction with the performance of the company. Mr. Tunji Badmus, thanked the management of Fidson Healthcare PLC., particularly the Managing Director, Dr Fidelis Ayebae for their pro-active leadership. In his words “I will disagree to the dismay of others; last year (2019) was a good result. This is a better result we are celebrating, while the best is yet to come.” In the same vein, Barrister Adetutu Siyanbola gave kudos to the board and the management for an outstanding result. She further commended the organization for the excellent performance even amid the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges.
Fidson Healthcare PLC. is poised to meet the demand for pharmaceutical products across Nigeria with deliberate increase in production capacity to deliver across dosage forms in key therapeutic areas. Today, the company boasts of over 250 NAFDAC registered brands and is deliberately expanding production capacity at its current World Health Organisation Good Manufacturing Practice (WHO-CGMP) compliant facility in Sango Ota, Nigeria.
