Oil palm

The Okitipupa Oil Palm Plc has resolved to pay its shareholders 25k dividends for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020,  27 years after it last paid one.

Chief Mobolaji Osomo, Chairman of the Board of Directors, made the disclosure at the 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company held on Tuesday in Lagos.

Osomo said  the company had returned to a significant profitability and had wiped out consistent losses of past years, hence the dividend payout for every 50 kobo shares held.

The chairman also said that the company recorded a significant 94.97 per cent revenue growth for the year ended, Dec. 31, 2020,  compared to the same period of 2019.

“Your company emerging from a period of recurring crises  for over a decade, returned to a major turnaround with an unprecedented turnover of N548.2 million in 2020 compared to N281. 1 million in 2019, a significant 94.97 per cent increase in revenue.

“In the same period, your company made a commendable profit after tax and dividend payment in the sum of N229.8 million in 2020 against a profit of N3.6 million in 2019.

“However, this is attributable to a change in our business strategy driven by a new agricultural operations model undertaken to re-position the company which is being consolidated in 2021 and we are sure, will produce even far significant results.

“In order to sustain these encouraging trends, strategies have been developed to completely rescue the company’s plantations from the claws of unauthorised persons, who have been exploiting them without let or hindrance for over two decades,” she said.

Osomo also said that the company intends to increase its share capital from N50 million to N1 billion shares of 50k each after approval at the meeting.

She explained that  after the share capital increase, the capital obtained would be injected into projects which included, complete rehabilitation of existing 9000 hectares of brownfield; development of over 5,800 hectares of greenfield; developing refining capacities among others.

Osomo added that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was able to commence the turnaround maintanance of its 4.5 tonnes per hour oil milling facility at Ipoke, which would  be completed in six months.

Also, Mr Taiwo Adewole,  Chief Executive Officer of the company, said that although some government policies supported the company’s growth trajectory,  the board and management took strategic steps to reposition the company.

Adewole said that the state government under Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu provided adequate security support that helped the company repossess its plantations.

He explained that the management also put in place an innovative operational model, which was to licence out the plantations which reduced the company’s expenditure.

Sir Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), who spoke on behalf of the shareholders, said that a lot of years had been wasted.

Nwosu said the dividend declared of 25k was not much, but expressed the shareholders happiness with the current profit turnaround of the company.

He said that the shareholders had high hopes on the company and were elated that it was on the part of profitability.

The annual reports of the company from year 2008 to 2019 were also presented at the AGM.

By Chris Ndibe

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, (NEPC), has sought the partnership of the Akwa Ibom State Government for the development of oil palm production for export.

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, NEPC, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, said this at a one-day capacity building workshop on acceptable practices across the oil palm value chain in Uyo.

Awolowo, who was represented by the Deputy Director and Trade Promotion Adviser, Mrs Pauline Ndulaka, said that the contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product plunged below 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2020.

He said that the coming years would see a turnaround if states adopted a One-State One-Product programme.

Awolowo said that Akwa Ibom had huge potential in the palm oil sector which is its comparative advantage over every other state in the South-South region endowed with the product.

He said that oil palm was maintaining a steady increase in the global market triggered by high demands over crude oil which was on the decline.

He said that there was a need to rejig the sector by engaging value chain players and stakeholders for the country to mass produce the product for export.

“Without gainsaying, there has been a tremendous increase in the global demands for oil palm from 1.2 million metric tonnes in 1964 to over 73.3 million metric tonnes in 2018.

“Regrettably, Nigeria that used to be a leading producing country in the 1960s is presently ranking fifth in production due to protracted neglect by the government.

“It is important, therefore, to engage the value chain players from time to time to address these challenges so that we can grow the export of this product in Nigeria.

” In this regard and as one of the leading producers, we expect Akwa Ibom State to play a leading role in the coming years,” he said.

Awolowo commended President Muhammadu Buhari for releasing funds through the Central Bank of Nigeria for the expansion of the oil palm value chain to boost exports.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Mr Ukpong Akpabio, said that the vision of the NEPC was in tandem with the state government policy on oil palm exportation.

Akpabio, represented by the Director of Commerce, Mr Aniefiok Idiong, said that the state had partnered investors through the Public Private Partnership to establish a palm oil processing mill and palm kernel processing in three different local government areas in the state.

He said that resulting from sharp practices in the marketplace, his ministry had sent a bill to the State Assembly and that when passed into law would check adulteration of palm oil produce.