Shareholders of Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc on Wednesday approved the proposal of the management for the expansion of its current oil mill from 30 tonnes per hour to 60 tonnes per hour. The project will cost N2.5bn.
The move, which is aimed at ensuring better returns for the company as well as its shareholders, will make Okomu to have the largest oil mill in Africa.
Speaking at the 34th Annual General Meeting of the company in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chairman, Okomu Plc, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, said the mill would emerge as one with the newest technology.
The expansion of the company, according to him, will also enable it to purchase an 11,000-hectare plantation in Edo State.
This, he said, would assist the company to double its current crude palm oil volume in the next five years.
Oyebode described the operating environment as very challenging, noting that while the prospects might not currently be optimistic, the board would still implement programmes that would ensure greater returns for shareholders,
On the company’s financial performance, the chairman put the total revenue for all palm products at N5.62bn. This represents a decrease of 23 per cent when compared to the 2012 value of N7.29bn.
He said the company recorded a 41 per cent decline in profit from N2.26bn in 2012 to N1.32bn for 2013.
The shareholders also approved the payment of dividend of N953.91m, representing N1 per share as against the N3.33bn or N7 per share paid in 2012.
Source: Punch