Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) giant, Nestle Nigeria Plc, recently held its 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos. Here are the key points made by the shareholders as well as the response from the board of directors.
Bonus
Shareholders severally requested for a bonus dividend. In their view, issuing bonus would increase the liquidity of the stock since the majority shareholders did very little trading.
A shareholder by name Mrs E.0. Ogundeyi, however, took a contrary opinion, insisting it would lead to a lower price of the stock.
Nestle last issued a bonus of 1 for 5 on the 28th April 2011.
More female board members
Popular shareholder activist Boniface Okezie also advocated for the inclusion of more women on the company’s board. The 8 member board has just one lady, Ndidi Nwuneli.
Minority representative
Nona Awoh, a shareholder requested that a minority representative is appointed to the board. Minority shareholders hold 33% of the company’s issued share capital, with the parent company holding the rest.
Unclaimed dividends
Awoh also sought details as to how the unclaimed dividends amounting to ₦1.7 billion was managed by the registrars.
Going forward
In response to questions on the Abaji water factory (located in Abuja), Chairman of Nestle, David Ifezulike stated that the project had improved and was a long-term play.
Ifezulike also expressed optimism that the company would sustain its 2017 performance. FY 2017 results for the company showed it made revenues of ₦244 billion in 2017 as against ₦181 billion in 2016. Profit before tax rose from ₦21.5 billion in 2016 to ₦46.8 billion in 2017. Profit after tax jumped massively from ₦7.9 billion in 2016 to ₦33.7 billion in 2017.
He also stated that the board would consider the request for a bonus issue.
Nestle Nigeria Plc began trading operations in Nigeria in 1991 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on April 20, 1979. The company has over 2000 direct employees.
Nestle shares closed at ₦1600 in yesterday’s NSE trading session, up 2.83% year to date.
