GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has declared a profit after tax of N623.01 million for the year ended December 2020 amidst the celebration of its 50 years of existence in Nigeria. The shareholders of the Company also approved a dividend of N657.7 million at 40k per share at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Company held in Lagos.
The results also showed that the Company’s Turnover grew by 3% to close at N21.3 billion as against N20.7 billion recorded in 2019.
Presenting the results to the shareholders, Mr. Edmund Onuzo, the Chairman, Board of Directors at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc. said that despite the challenging economic environment, particularly for manufacturers in the country, the company is determined to achieve a sustainable performance across all its portfolio.
“The year 2020 presented a difficult and unpredictable business environment globally. In Nigeria, many events shaped our business environment, but I will like to focus on a few. My focus will include the unprecedented lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, insecurity and the #EndSARS protest that took place towards the end of the year” Onuzo said.
He added: “The unpredicted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic slowed Nigeria’s economic recovery as the country went into a recession for the second time in five years, after the marginal economic growth noticed before 2020.”
Despite these challenges, Mr. Onuzo declared that the task before the company is to drive its strategic objectives that would not only keep the business afloat but make its portfolio more efficient and profitable.
“The performance of our Company in 2020 reflected our determination to remain strong and deliver value to our esteemed customers and stakeholders in a challenging economic climate. We will continue to invest in our brands and our people to achieve sustainable growth and development”, Onuzo assured.
Regarding the government’s intervention for businesses from a macroeconomics standpoint, Onuzo said: “It is heart-warming to acknowledge that the federal government is making efforts to diversify the Nigerian economy from a monopolistic economy that largely depends on oil revenue.”
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught governments and policymakers to be readily prepared and proactively plan for their societies as it has become a necessary collective responsibility in this era.
Commenting on the company’s performance for the year, Kunle Oyelana, Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc said the achievement is a result of collaborative support from all key stakeholders of the healthcare delivery subsector.
Oyelana noted that in the last 50 years, GSK has remained Nigeria’s leading healthcare company focused on enabling Nigerian to do more, feel better and live longer with our Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare products.
This year’s performance complements our sterling milestones in Research & Development (R&D) and innovations as well as quality healthcare products delivery.
“We have experienced sustained growth in our business operations centred on our three business areas of Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare while we have also maintained some initiatives that have continued to generate impacts by creating shared values in our communities”.
“We are pleased with the results for 2020 as it showed the resilient spirit of the GSK team. Importantly, we at GSK were able to support the government’s efforts at managing COVID-19 in Nigeria via donations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) through industry associations and our partners, Save the Children”, Oyelana said.
While felicitating with the management and commending the company for waxing stronger over the last 50 years, despite the harsh business environment, Chairman of the Audit Committee, Kashimawo Taiwo, noted that the shareholders are glad to approve the payment of 40 kobo as a dividend, having realised that the time is hard and the year 2020 has been very challenging and “a lot of companies faced a lot of difficulties”.
“The operating environment has been very harsh, so for the company to come out with an increase in the turnover, has been a very great effort for them, and for them giving us the 40kobo dividend, it is very encouraging for every shareholder, we really appreciate that”, Taiwo noted.
It can be recalled that GSK delivered a good performance in 2019 with growth in sales, earnings, and strong cash generation and this strength has also been replicated in the 2020 results.
