Stanley Opara
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of GSK Plc, says a renewed focus on its healthcare business in Nigeria will boost its brand portfolio.
The company said this with respect to the divestment of its drinks business in the third quarter of 2016.
But it declared a dividend of 30k per share for the year ended December 31, 2016.
In the year under review, the company recorded a turnover of N14.384bn. its profit before tax dropped by 83 per cent to N185.891m from N1.065bn recorded a year ago.
Speaking at the 46th Annual General Meeting of the firm in Lagos, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Edmund Onuzo, attributed the company’s decline in profitability to a number of factors including the challenging operating environment, such as a period of recession in the year under review.
He said, “The divestment of the company’s drinks business in Q3is also a factor. This divestment has however enabled the company to align with the global strategy and focus on its core businesses with the aim of driving improved margins and sustainable growth.
“Although the immediate outcome of the divestment is a leaner and nimble company, focus on healthcare would enhance GSK’s brand portfolio.”
Onuzo stressed that GSK would continue to support its brand through increased marketing and promotions, while also disclosing that the company would drive increased local manufacturing and local content contribution to increase margins and mitigate foreign exchange fluctuations.
He added, “In 2017, GSK would focus on growing major brands like Sensodyne, Panadol, Andrews Liver Salt and Macleans to drive baseline profitability. These are part of our sustainability measures. We are now more focused on our core strength and going forward, we hope to aggressively build our consumer healthcare portfolio.”
According to the chairman, the company is strongly committed to attaining and sustaining high performance and will continue to invest in human capital and sustainable corporate responsibility initiatives, while ensuring that it fulfills its mission to improve the quality of human lives by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
Onuzo assured shareholders that despite the economic challenges of 2016, the company remained committed to ensuring that its shareholders received good returns on their investment.
At the meeting, the board recommended for approval a dividend of N359m to be paid to shareholders, representing 30k per ordinary share.
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