Odu’a Investment Company Limited has declared a dividend of N518m to its shareholders for the 2024 financial year, representing a 21 per cent increase from the N428m paid in 2023.
The Group Chairman, Bimbo Ashiru, disclosed this during the company’s 43rd Annual General Meeting held in Lagos recently.
Despite challenges in the macroeconomic environment, including high inflation, volatile exchange rates, and energy costs, the group recorded a strong financial performance. Operating revenue rose by 81 per cent from N3.95bn in 2023 to N7.15bn in 2024. Total comprehensive income surged by 773 per cent from N9.23bn to N82.26bn, driven largely by N80.58bn in gains from the fair value of financial assets.
However, profit before tax declined to N1.78bn due to inflationary pressure and reinvestments across subsidiaries.
In his address, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Abdulrahman Yinusa, noted that operating profits more than doubled to N3.46bn from N1.58bn, representing 119 per cent growth. Profit before tax rose marginally from N1.96bn to N2.18bn, while profit after tax dropped to N1.78bn from N2.38bn.
Yinusa said the board is proposing a dividend of N517.5m for 2024, up from N427.8m in 2023.
This brings the total dividends paid to shareholders over the past 11 years to N3.63bn.
As part of its strategy to agro-industrialise the South West, Ashiru announced that SWAgCo, Odu’a’s agribusiness investment vehicle, has entered into joint ventures worth N10bn with partners including Starlink Global & Ideal Limited, Petaguls Cultivars & Seedling Technologies, Foodlocker Limited, and British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation.
The PUNCH reported that Odu’a Investment Company Limited announced plans to hold its 43rd Annual General Meeting on May 15 in Lagos.
