The Odu’a Investment Company Limited has declared N5.203 billion Profit After Tax with dividend payment of N364 million for the 2020 financial year.
The company also disclosed that it had begun to explore new frontier in the oil and gas upstream sector of the nation’s economy.
The disclosures were made during the 39th Annual General Meeting of the company held on Thursday, July 15, at the company’s headquarters, Cocoa House, Ibadan, the Oyo State under a special arrangement due to the new wave of COVID-19.
The shareholder states of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos were represented on the occasion by their secretaries to the state government who adopted the resolutions that were proposed.
The meeting approved the consolidated financial statement of the Group for the Financial Year 2020 as well as the payment of cash dividend of N364million, a 14per cent increase, to shareholders over the previous year.
The Chairman of Odu’a Group, Dr. Segun Aina, OFR, while announcing the 11.5per cent increase in the company’s Profit After Tax from N4.665billion in 2019 to N5.203billion in 2020, explained that it was as a result of astute oversight of the Board and the focus of the management despite the global economic shock of a pandemic year.
Aina said that the Board’s continued focus on the audacious 5-year growth plan (2021 to 2025), would drive the Group to become a world class conglomerate, ensure sustainable returns to all stakeholders and enhance the legacy for future generations.
He stated that the Group’s business would be further supported with new work practices, technology and policies and incentives that would help it achieve its growth strategy. “This strategy of ‘Sweat, revive and create’ is pinned on the strategic pillars of good governance and reporting, people and culture transformation, investment excellence, growth and expansion, and profitability and efficiency to sweat the existing assets, revive inactive entities, and create new businesses.”
The Group Managing Director/CEO of Odu’a, Mr. Adewale Raji, said that though the company experienced the headwinds of the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic particularly in its hospitality and real estate segments, the revenue generated was a quantum leap up by 112per cent from N1.809 billion in 2019 to N3.842billion in 2020.
“The company’s PBT increased dramatically to N3.75billion from N890million in 2019. A sizeable chunk of this PBT is a N2.63billion gain from investment properties revaluation which, if stripped, puts the net PBT at N1.12billion that represent a 26per cent increase over the 2019 performance of N890million. On the strength of this performance, the company declared a N364 million dividend for 2020 financial year which marks the 7th consecutive year that the company is declaring and paying dividends to shareholders.”
Raji also reported that the company had made a landmark achievement by winning a sizeable percentage of BITA marginal oil field that was part of the recent DPR 2020 Marginal Oil Field Bid Round for which it had fully paid its award signature bonus.
He expressed optimism that the future was bright for the Group on account of ongoing investment drive and initiatives in its priority sectors of real estate, hospitality, agriculture, energy, logistics and e-commerce, healthcare, financial services and ICT/digital, saying, “To make this company a world class conglomerate. We are on that journey, we have started and we have started well. Our mandate will transcend the South-West.”
Among those who were present during a press briefing that was held at the end of the 39th AGM of the company are Mrs Adekemi Ajayi, Mr Mark George and Mrs A Ajayu.
