Companies
Focus: This old paint company is struggling to remain king
There are about five paint manufacturing companies that are currently listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
There are about five paint manufacturing companies that are currently listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). One of them is Meyer Plc. The company has, for many years, tried to remain relevant in the paint manufacturing sector by producing a wide array of products that are used for home decoration, office painting, road signs, industrial coatings, and more. But can it ever be king of the paint manufacturing sector?
On this week’s Nairametrics company profile, we are focusing on Meyer Plc. Get to know everything about the company, with emphasis on its business model, products, financial performance over the years, business prospects, and opportunities for investors.
About Meyer Plc
Meyer Plc was incorporated in 1960 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1979. For nearly sixty years, the company has been manufacturing and merchandising wide-ranging, high quality industrial/marine paints, road lining paints, architectural paints, wood paints, roof lining paints, tube coatings, and adhesives, etc.
Within the past fifty-six years, Meyer Plc has undergone a series of corporate changes and rebranding. Formerly an offshoot of Hagemeyer Nigeria Limited, its name was changed to Meyer Paints in 1994 after Dunlop Nigeria acquired majority shares in the company. But by 2003, Dunlop Nigeria Plc divested its majority shareholding. And in 2010, the company’s name was finally changed to Meyer Plc after “a new set of core investors led by Citiprops Limited” acquired controlling shares in the company.
Meanwhile, the company’s ownership structure further changed when Citiprops recently decided to sell off all of its stakes. Greenwich Trust Limited and Greenwich Management Limited collectively acquired the shares which are valued at 35.6%.
In the meantime, Meyer Plc is aiming to become a leader in the paint manufacturing sector. To accomplish this, the company is pioneering revolutionary trends whilst ensuring that their customers are satisfied.
Segmentation of products
Meyer Plc’s products are segmented into four main categories, namely: decoratives, auto refinishes, industrial/marine, and wood refinishes. Some of the most popular products under each of these categories are listed below:
- Meyer Wall Satin
- Red Oxide Prime
- Meyer Flex Finish
- Meyer Wood Guard
- Ultimate Emulsion
- Cellulose Sanding Sealer
- Autobase
- Bright Aluminium etc.
Here are some of the company’s top executives and board of directors
Akintunde Olukayode Falowo: He is Meyer Plc’s non-executive Chairman. An experienced stockbroker, Falowo has more than twenty years’ postgraduate experience in the field of finance/investment banking.
Falowo studied at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife, graduating with a Bachelors of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering. He also studied for his MBA at the University of Benin. Also, he is a distinguished Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, a Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, Member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, etc.
He joined Meyer Plc in 2010 as a non-executive director. Asides this role, he is also the Managing Director/CEO of Greenwich Trust Limited.
Adeola Omosebi: Omosebi is the current Managing Director of Meyer Plc. His professional experience spans 25 years across sectors like financial services, oil and gas, and manufacturing. For about fifteen years, he held various top executive positions in notable banks such as Sterling Bank Plc and the now defunct Gulf Bank of Nigeria Plc.
He joined Meyer Plc in 2010 as the Finance Director, and by 2012 became the company’s Chief Executive Officer, a position he held for two years before resigning and relocating to be with his family abroad.
He once again became the company’s Managing Director in February 2018.
Omosebi has a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Uyo, Calabar Nigeria. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
Bamidele Akinola: He is an Executive Director and the immediate past Managing Director. He became the company’s Managing Director in October 2016 and held the position till February 2018. Akinola has over 23 years of professional experience, having spent fifteen years in Cadbury Nigeria Plc starting from 1995. He also had stints at Jetstar Consulting Limited, UAC Foods Limited, and Dansa Foods Limited.
The company’s target market
Paints manufactured by Meyer Plc are used by both private and industrial customers; however, judging from information available on its website, it is apparent that its biggest customers include companies in the oil and gas, financial services, telecoms, manufacturing and industrial sectors. Examples of these companies include: MTN, Dangote Group, British American Tobacco, Oando, Access Bank etc. They are also patronised by both the Federal and Lagos State Governments, as well as agencies of Government such as the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
A look at Meyer Plc’s competitors
Meyer Plc is in competition with the following companies: Cap Plc, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Nigeria Plc, Portland Paints & Products Nigeria Plc, and Premier Paints Plc. Each of these companies are into the manufacturing and marketing of similar products as Meyer Plc.
Below are these companies’ unaudited financial highlights for the period ended September 30th 2018:
• Cap Plc: Revenue of ₦5.4 billion and PAT of ₦1.2 billion.
• Berger Paint Nigeria Plc: Revenue of ₦2.4 billion and PAT of ₦181.6 million.
• Portland Paints & Products Nigeria Plc: Revenue of ₦1.9 billion and PAT of ₦126.1 million.
• Premier Paints Plc: Revenue of ₦125.7 million and a loss after tax of ₦57.9 million.
• Meyer Plc: Revenue of ₦752.4 million and PAT of ₦186.1 million.
Based on this comparison, it is obvious that Meyer Plc is not among the top three players in the paint/chemical industry in Nigeria. Apparently, the company has been affected by economic challenges in recent years, which resulted in irregular revenues and even losses.
But all these notwithstanding, Meyer Plc is hopeful for a brighter future in the market. In a written address by the company’s Chairman as contained in the 2017 financial report, Mr Falowo, said that Meyer Plc is “prospecting for foreign technical partnership to strengthen their technical capability and open business to untapped opportunities in the industries.”
It is yet to be seen whether this technical partnership has taken place, and the most importantly, if it can help revitalise the struggling company.
Companies
Lafarge Africa Plc. announces its board meeting and closed period for Q2 2020
The notification which was duly signed by General Counsel & Company Secretary.
Lafarge Africa Plc. notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investing public that he closed period will commence on Wednesday, 8th July 2020 until the unaudited financial statement for the second quarter ended 30th June 2020, is released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
In a disclosure on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, it wrote: “We hereby notify the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investing public that a meeting of the Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa Plc has been scheduled to hold on Thursday, 23rd July 2020 to consider the second quarter financial results of the Company for the quarter ended 30th June 2020.”
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The notification which was duly signed by General Counsel & Company Secretary, Mrs. Adewunmi Alode explained further stating that “Accordingly, no Director, employee, persons discharging managerial responsibility and Advisers of the Company and their connected persons may directly or indirectly deal in the shares of the Company in any manner during the closed period.”
Over the past few months, it made a few board changes with the retirement of two of its Non-Executive Directors, as well as the appointment of three new Directors. It had also spun off its South African subsidiary, Lafarge South Africa Holdings (LSAH), last year.
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Lafarge Africa’s Q1 2020 revenue was up 9.8% year-on-year to N63.7 billion, driven by higher Cement Sales (a figure up 11% year-on-year to N62.3 billion) which offset the weakness in Aggregate and Concrete (down 21% y/y to N1.4bn). Its EBITDA grew by 2.4% year-on-year to N19.3 billion as well. As at Tuesday the 7th of July, the share price of the company was N10.00.
Companies
AXA Mansard Insurance Plc gives notice of Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be live-streamed to enable shareholders and stakeholders participate.
Insurance firm, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc., has given notice of its board of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.
The announcement which was disclosed by Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in a corporate disclosure on July 7th, 2020 and signed by Company Secretary, Omowunmi Mabel Adewusi read, “Notice is hereby given that the twenty-eighth annual general meeting of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc. will hold at the Oriental Hotel, no. 3, Lekki Road, Victoria Island, Lagos on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.”
READ ALSO: AXA Mansard divests from its pension and real estate ventures
As noted, the purpose of the AGM is to transact the following business:
- To receive the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, and the Reports of the Directors, Auditors and Statutory Audit Committee thereon
- To authorise Directors to fix the remuneration of the Auditors
- To elect Directors and
- To elect members of the Statutory Audit Committee.
In order to ensure that all relevant stakeholders can be a part of the AGM, the company will also be streaming the AGM live. It noted that “This will enable shareholders and other stakeholders who will not be attending physically to follow the proceedings.”
The link for the live streaming of the Meeting will be made available on the Company’s website at www.axamansard.com.
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Recall that a few months ago, in March, the company’s Board of Directors announced the appointment of John Dickson as the company’s new Non-Executive Director. A month earlier, it also disclosed its plan to sell its pension management subsidiary (AXA Mansard Pensions Ltd) and some undisclosed real estate investments.
Its unaudited financials for the period Q1 2020 reveal a growth across revenue and profit lines. Gross written premium grew by 21% from N17.4 billion earned in Q1 2019 to N21 billion in Q1 2020. Profit for the year for the group grew by a commendable 120% from N890 million in Q1 2019 to N1.9 billion in Q1 2020.
As at Tuesday, the 7th of July when markets closed, the share price of the company was N1.59. The company’s EPS stood at 0.33 while its price to book ratio stood at 0.6082.
The board of directors of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has revealed that it will investigate the activities of the suspended Managing Director, 3 Executive Directors, and 8 other senior management staff over financial breaches and gross misconduct.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the board of NSITF, Mr. Austin Enajemo-Isire, in a statement in Enugu on Sunday July 5, 2020.
Enajemo-Isire said that the Managing Director and other top management staff of the organization would have the opportunity to clear themselves of any wrongdoing with the probe panel which was being set up.
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While reacting to claims that the suspension did not follow due process as President Muhammadu Buhari did not approve it, Enajemo-Isire said that the approval for the suspension of the affected staff had been conveyed to the Labour Minister in a correspondence referenced SGF. 47/511/T/99 of June 30, 2020.
According to the Chairman, “The minister has conveyed this approval and directives to me for necessary action in terms of setting up a board-driven investigative panel.
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“This is to give the affected officers the opportunity to clear themselves of the financial and procurement breaches and acts of gross misconduct and other infractions that gave rise to their prima facie indictment.
“It is in this light that I have decided to call a virtual meeting of the management board on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, to consider the modalities for our action.”
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He, therefore, appealed to staffers of NSITF and their social partners to keep calm and exercise restraint.
A few days ago, Nairametrics reported the suspension of the Managing Director and some senior management staff over corruption allegations. However, the management in its reaction debunked that claim and said that the President did not approve their suspension but that rather, it was the sole decision of the Labour Minister, Chris Ngige, who they said was overreaching himself.
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