During an extraordinary general
meeting in Lagos which was held a few days ago, the chairman of the company, Mr. John Coumantaros, explained, that
the fund would help the company reduce its debt burden, interest charges as well
as augment its working capital. He made it clear that with the proceeds of the
rights issue, Flour Mills would be strongly positioned to pursue high growth
business opportunities without straining its liquidity. According to him, the
company currently employs 6,000 workers and has created a lot of employment
opportunities for Nigerians.
Mr. Coumantros added: “The foreign exchange market is getting tough and we have to
find ways to manufacture locally. We are undertaking a very big investment
programme.”
Tectono Business Review also learnt that the shareholders approved the
resolution mandating the directors to increase the company’s authorised share
capital from its current N2 billion to N2.5 billion.
Mr. Coumantros also said: “You will recall that during the last five years, Flour Mills
had embarked on a major expansion programme in our core food, agro allied,
logistics and support businesses. We also undertook done strategic acquisitions
and mergers. These were aimed at strengthening, consolidating, re-focusing and
supporting our core food business.”
He highlighted a few of the
investments that had been undertaken by the company. They include:
·
The
inauguration of a new sugar refinery at Apapa.
·
The
development of a 10,000 hectare sugar estate and mill in Sunti, Niger state.
·
An ultra-modern
pasta factory at Agbara, Ogun state.
In his speech to the shareholders,
the Flour Mill boss said: “Most of these projects are
now operational and making steady and impressive progress. Your directors are
therefore optimistic that the project will deliver good returns, positive cash
flow and continue to make appreciable contributions to Flour Mills top line and
bottom line growth in the coming years. Unfortunately, this period of strategic
expansion has coincided with the sudden slump in global crude oil prices from
November 2014 which resulted in major devaluation of the naira and caused
increases in our import costs and financial charges.”
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