May & Baker Plc said it has the capacity to pay dividends to its shareholders despite the difficulty it has experienced during the 2018 financial year. However, dividend payment would be subject to certain approvals.
The company’s Managing Director, Mr Nnamdi Okafor, disclosed this yesterday in Lagos, during a launch with reporters.
The pharmaceutical company’s financial results for the past three quarters of the year form the basis for the claim of capacity to pay dividends, according to the MD.
Mr Okafor also used the occasion to comment on the company’s financial performance so far in 2018, saying that the company has done relatively well considering its challenges and the streamlining of its operations.
“Despite all the constraints, our business has managed to thrive as shown by our results in the past three quarters. Our turnover has been growing despite the recent streamlining of our business into core healthcare business. We have also grown our profit. We think we have done well enough, considering our circumstances.” -Okafor
It should be recalled that earlier this year, May & Baker’s food line was sold to Dufil Nigeria Limited for N775 million. Until the divestment, the company’s food line manufactured Mimee Noddles and contributed a small percentage of overall revenue.
The company seems to take dividends seriously
It should be noted that May & Baker Plc is one of those Nigerian companies that take dividend payments seriously.
For the financial year ended 31st December 2017, May & Baker paid a dividend of 20 kobo per share which indicated a 233.3% increase compared to 6.0 kobo paid for 2016.
The company’s Q3 financial performance
Note that despite the supposed difficult year May & Baker has experienced in 2018, its unaudited third quarter 2018 financial statement shows a relatively positive performance.
Revenue decreased from N6.9 billion in Q3 2017 to N6.5 billion in Q3 2018. However, profit after tax for the first nine months in 2018 increased to N414.7 million compared to N218.5 million in Q3 2017.
Based on this performance, it is safe to forecast that May & Baker is on the right path to an overall positive performance by the end of full-year 2018.
In the meantime, the company is making effort to expand its operations. Just a few months ago, its shareholders were successfully wooed into subscribing to a rights issue of 980 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N2.50 per share.
May & Baker is a Nigerian drug manufacturing and merchandising company which was incorporated in 1944 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1994.
The company’s stock is currently trading at N2.45 on the Nigerian bourse.