Posted by By Jerome Ushakang on
Okomu Oil Palm Plc has recorded a decrease of N41 million in turnover or 28.2 per cent for the half year ended June 30, 2005.
Okomu Oil Palm Plc has recorded a decrease of N41 million in turnover or 28.2 per cent for the half year ended June 30, 2005.
The company's unaudited results for the half year, made available to market operators by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that it recorded a turnover of N1.4 billion as against N1.45 billion in the comparable period of 2004.
While profit after tax also dropped by N82.7 million or 13.1 per cent profit after tax stood at N544.9 million during the period under review compared with N627.6 million recorded last year.
It would be recalled that the Chairman of the company, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode at the 25th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Abuja, last June ,said the company has continued to face a price increase in the fuel sector which had a negative impact on operating expenses.
Oyebode stated that the government's promise of a lasting solution to power outages did not materialise, resulting in large industrial concerns expending huge sums on private power generation.
According to him, the high cost of diesel did not help much either. He added that the resulting increase in cost of production has pushed up prices even further increasing the likelihood of factory closures.
The chairman explained that statistics released by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) indicated that manufacturers only recorded a marginal growth in capacity utilisation.
However, Oyebode said the Palm plantation performed very well during the year under review. At the end of the year, the mature area of the plantation rose to 7.6722 from 7.073 in 2003.
The chairman explained that although rainfall for the period was still below the average recorded for the last 15 years, the Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) production reached 115.028 mt which is the highest production rate ever achieved since the plantation became operational.
He said the average yield recorded by the company over the total mature area harvested was 15.09 mt.hd which represents a record yield on the African Continent as available show that the standard African yield is about 13mt/ha.
The Chairman re-assured shareholders that the future is great for the company adding that the challenges faced by the company during the year are not peculiar to it and apply to all sectors of the economy.He emphasised that the company is fully aware of these challenges and has positioned itself to succeed inspite of the challenging operating environment.