Unilever Nigeria has declared a turnover of N60.5bn for the year ended December 2019, which is 34.9 per cent lower than the N92.89bn it recorded the previous year.
Profit After Tax equally declined from N10.55bn to N7.42bn.
These statistics were announced at the 95th Annual General Meeting of the company, which was held by proxy due to the movement and social restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus Disease.
According to the Chairman of the Board, HRM, Nnaemeka Achebe, the results reflect challenging conditions in which the company has had to operate, as well as the company’s decision to tighten credit terms to address exposure from trade receivables and excess stock in trade to better position for innovation and return to competitive growth.
At the AGM, Achebe commended the stakeholders for their trust and loyalty to the company, and assured of the firm’s commitment to good corporate governance that would in turn drive sustainability and profitability in its operations.
“Although we are not declaring dividend for FY 2019, we are optimistic because our results show that we made progress in some other critical areas of our operations, which speaks to the fact that we are on the right path to growing our business for profitability and better returns on investment for our shareholders.
“Therefore, the task before the board and management is to drive our strategic objectives that would not only keep the business afloat but also ensure it operates efficiently,” Achebe said.
He noted that despite the challenging business environment, which had been further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the management at Unilever Nigeria would remain strategic in their approach to sustaining the company’s operations to revert to profitable and sustainable growth.
Unilever Nigeria, in April, declared its Q1 2020 interim report, showing a 30 per cent decline across its revenues from Food Products, Home and Personal Care divisions.
Revenue fell 19.5 per cent from N9.2bn in the corresponding quarter in 2019 to N7.4bn in Q1 2020.
The company had, in 2018, sold off its spreads business, which includes the household name brand, Blueband Magarine.
