OICL Posts N3.67bn Revenue in 2022, Grows Assets to N114.5bn
By THECONSCIENCEng
Odua Investment Company limited (OICL), has recorded an operating revenue of N3.67 billion for 2022 financial.
The company also grew its total assets by 3.6 percent from N110.56 billion in 2021 to N114.51 billion in 2022.
Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, group chairman of the conglomerate made the disclosure at its 41st Annual General Meeting on Thursday in Lagos.
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Ashiru said, “Total Assets grew 3.6% from N110.56billion in 2021, to N114.51billion in 2022. Odu’a Investment Company Limited’s operating revenue decreased by 8.5% from N4.01billion in 2021to N3.67billion in 2022.The company posted a profit before tax of N4.08 billion in 2022, 56.5% lower than the N9.37billion in 2021. This was driven largely by lower revaluation gains.”
A dividend of N428 million was also paid to shareholders which are the six South West states.
“Despite the socio-economic challenges we faced as a business, I am happy to report that the Board has recommended a dividend of N428million for your approval. This is higher than the dividend of N418 million paid in 2021, and indicative of our commitment to delivering sustainable returns,” he said.
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This brings the total dividend paid to shareholders over the last nine years to the sum of N2.56 billion.
From left, Company Secretary/Head, Legal, Mrs Abiola Ajayi; Group Chairman, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru and the Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr Adewale Raji, all of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, during the company’s 41st Annual General Meeting held at Ikeja Airport Hotel, in Lagos.
Odua company is owned by six South West states of Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Lagos.
As part of fulfilling responsibilities of steering the company towards achieving its potential, the group chairman said: “We have stayed committed to the execution of our Five-year Strategy, which we refer to as SRC (Sweat, Revive, and Create) 2025.
The central thrusts of the strategy include sustainably improving returns by Sweating existing assets, Reviving moribund businesses within our portfolio or optimising their assets, and Creating new businesses across our priority sectors (Agriculture, Healthcare, Real Estate, Hospitality, Financial Services, Energy, ICT and Transportation and Logistics).”
He stressed that in Nigeria, the business environment in 2022 was a year of two halves arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and the typical slowdown that has come to be associated with pre-election years which significantly weighed on economic activities and investments, adding that the company will continue to strive to transform and refocus its business for the future.
Otunba Ashiru maintained that “despite these challenges however, Odu’a Investment Company Limited showed significant resilience and leveraged available opportunities within the economy to continue to create value for our shareholders”.
The group chairman added: “The outlook for 2023 remains positive. We expect some of the critical changes in the monetary and fiscal policy environment that will drive activities in real estate and construction,agriculture, and the power sector, amongst others.”
He said further, “I believe that the year 2023 will be pivotal for the business. Several transformational initiatives in our operations will be completed or nearing completion, and it will therefore be a year of consolidating on the significant shift that the Board and Management have worked so diligently to achieve over the last three years. The multiplier effects that we expect on our revenue and asset base have begun to appear, and the trajectory of the business can only be upwards.”
Group Managing Director/CEO of the company, Mr Adewale Raji while speaking said “In the year 2022, our businesses faced macroeconomic pressures, ranging from rises in the prices of diesel, fertiliser, and other agricultural inputs, to a sustained rise in the cost of building materials. Notwithstanding, most of our businesses witnessed modest revenue growth and expansion.
“Our expectation is that there will be more macroeconomic stability in 2023 as we expect more decisiveness in dealing with the underlying drivers of inflation, and the foreign exchange market”, he said .
The GMD added: “2023 being a political transition year, we expect economic activities to improve gradually especially in H2 as we expect the new administration to unbundle the cleavages that will lead to sustainable economic growth. As a business, we are resolute in our conviction that the business plans we set-out to execute in 2023 will drive the expected growth. We expect many of the opportunities in our pipeline to translate into positive revenue growth and profitability in 2023″.
Other members of the OICL Board of Directors are Dr. Segun Aina, Non-Executive Director; Chief Segun Ojo, Non-Executive Director; M Seni Adio, Non-Executive Director; Dr Tola Kasali, Non-Executive Director.
Others include Mr. Segun Olujobi, Non-Executive Director; Otunba Mrs. Debola Osibogun, Independent Director; Mrs. Folusho Olaniyan, Independent Director; Mr. Olugbolahan Mark-George, Executive Director; and Mr Abdulrahman Yinusa, Executive Director.