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University Press Plc has lamented the rising cost of doing business in Nigeria, stating that the challenge has increased its cost of operations.
According to the company, foreign exchange pressures, high levels of fiscal debt, weak governance and country’s dependency on oil as its main foreign exchange earner offered little succour to the challenges bedevilling the business.
Chairman, University Press, Obafunso Ogunkeye, stated this at the weekend during the 4
45th yearly general meeting in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Ogunkeye said the year in review was quite challenging for the company going by all that happened in Nigeria and globally.
He said the country witnessed high levels of inflation occasioned by Russia/Ukraine war as well as tensions between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. All these factors contributed to disrupting global supply chains.
According to him, the challenges of sourcing foreign exchange greatly affected its business as they were unable to produce the quantities they would have wished to produce through its foreign printers.
He said it equally hindered the company’s efforts at printing locally owing to the very high cost of paper which is a significant proportion of cost of production.
Besides, he said the company’s revenue started on a promising note, however, as the year progressed, the aforementioned economic conditions stifled the revenue generation activities.
He noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Naira redesign/swap policy and preparation towards the general elections significantly impacted the performance.
He said all these resulted in a six per cent reduction in the company’s turnover when compared with the 2021/2022 fiscal year.
He said the company’s turnover for 2022/2023 was N2.2 billion. The profit after tax was N142.3 million, a 31 per cent decrease when compared with the previous year.
Meanwhile, considering the company’s performance, the Board recommended a dividend of 10 kobo per share or N43 million, for the 2022/2023 financial year, which was accepted by the shareholders.
Also speaking Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, University Press Plc, Samuel Kolawole, said in the course of the year, a number of décisions were made by the CBN and the Federal Government that impacted the business environment negatively.
He said most importantly, the year witnessed the redesigning of currency and the implementation of a cashless policy by the CBN. The resultant effect of the elections, combined with the unexpected redesign of the naira and the implementation of a cashless policy by the CBN posed greater challenges to the Nigerian economy than was envisaged by many.
Kolawole said these policies placed a lot of hardship on economic activities in most sectors of the Nigerian economy. The education sector in which the company operate was not an exception.
He said the company will continue to respond to the challenges identified and prepare for unexpected ones that may emerge down the line.
However, shareholders have commended the company for its doggedness in withstanding the challenges being faced in the country.
The board was applauded for giving out dividend, which is to be disbursed immediately after approval considering the obstacles faced by the company.
Chairman, Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Bisi Bakare, said the company should consider local sourcing of materials as opposed to importation of materials for production.
She said the company is not doing enough on staff emoluments, appealing to the board to look into that.
Bakare said the company needs to leverage technology to boost revenue, stating that the company should have an online platform where students can log in and get knowledge.
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