Despite the pandemic and the various socio-economic challenges experienced by businesses in 2021, NASCON Allied Industry (NASCON) Plc has continued to deliver on its commitment for continuous shareholders value creation and retention of its position as market leader in its core business.
The board recommended and paid a dividend of 40 kobo per share, totaling N1.06 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
As a business, in 2021, the company stated it focused on consolidating and scaling its gains through its state-of-the-art Salt Refinery, with the spotlight on its flagship brand “Dangote Salt”, while building on the initiatives created to improve its business operations during the pandemic.
“In spite of the challenges faced during the year, we were able to grow market share for our products through focused and compelling engagement with our consumers as well as expansion of our distribution capabilities to improve product accessibility and availability for our consumers.
“We ensured continued protection of our employees with the relevant personal protective equipment. Additionally, as employees gradually returned to our offices, we set up strict health and safety guidelines to ensure a safe work environment,” the company said.
For the financial year ended December 2021, NASCON recorded a turnover of N33.28 billion, representing a 19 per cent increase from N28.01 billion in the previous year, 2020. Profit after tax increased by 10 per cent to N2.97 billion for the year, compared to N2.69 billion achieved in 2020. Earnings per share also increased to N1.12 in 2021 compared to N1.02 in 2020.
Dividend refers to a reward, cash or otherwise, that a company gives to its shareholders. Dividends can be issued in various forms, such as cash payment, stocks or any other form. A company’s dividend is decided by its board of directors and it requires the shareholders’ approval. A dividend is usually a part of the profit that the company shares with its shareholders.
NASCON, as a company, is not only a good dividend stock, it also rewards investors in terms of capital appreciation and has demonstrated a capacity to reward shareholders over a long period of time.
The chairperson of NASCON, Yemisi Ayeni, said: “we believe that mainstreaming sustainable business practices would enable us drive our long-term corporate success. We are therefore integrating sustainability principles and standards at the core of our business operations, and building the required structures that would enable us remain relevant today and in the future.”
She pointed out that, “NASCON aligns with the Dangote Group’s 7 Sustainability Pillars (The Dangote Way), which outline how we would run a purpose driven business that pays close attention to the triple-bottom-line issues of people, planet and profit.
“While sustainable profit will always be a key reason for us being in business, we understand that our people are the greatest assets that would drive these bottom-line objectives. We must therefore ensure their wellbeing, safety, satisfaction and productivity.
“We are also strongly committed to our environmental responsibility and the need to continuously consider the wellbeing of the planet (including CO2 emissions, energy consumption, waste management and recycling) as we make critical business decisions.”
Ayeni noted further that, “in the year under review, we redefined our commitment to international best practices as we prioritized the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) that align most with our business goals and sustainability objectives.
“We are also solidifying our commitment to ethical labour practices, protecting human rights, driving environmental sustainability and anti-corruption; all of which are underlying principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which our parent company, Dangote Industries Limited, is a signatory to.
“We are glad to have achieved our first sustainability report in accordance with GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards having published a GRI referenced report in past, giving us a good opportunity to begin to disclose our environmental and social stewardship to our esteemed investors and other stakeholders, annually.
“As we progress in our sustainability journey, we will ensure continual improvement in health and safety, community engagement and social investments, as our way of building a sustainable brand.”
Looking forward in 2022, the chairperson said: “we maintain a cautious outlook as we continue to monitor several macro-economic indices. With global supply chain pressures likely to remain for most of the year, profitability margins may be further weakened.
“Despite the identified challenges, the Board and Management of NASCON are determined to make the right decisions to continually grow the business. This we would do in a bid to sustain earnings and profitability, to deliver competitive returns to our valued shareholders.”
Acting managing director of NASCON, Thabo Mabe said, despite the diverse challenges faced in 2021, the company will continue to demonstrate its resilience and optimism in 2022.
According to him, we are focused on maximizing the gains from our capacity expansion, human capital development, operational efficiency and aggressive trade in all market segments.
Shareholders commended the food seasoning company over its impressive performance in the year 2021, in spite of the harsh economic operating environment just as the company emerged the best haulage company of the year.
Mrs. Bisi Bakare, a shareholder, said the performance reflects the ability of the management of NASCON to steer the company through difficult times especially in the face of lack of power, fluctuating exchange regime and dwindling purchasing power of consumers.
She expressed the belief that the overall performance of the Company was a reflection of its Seven sustainability pillars adopted by NASCON and which are geared towards ensuring that the company connects with all stakeholders.
Also, a shareholders’ rights’ activist, Sir Sunny Nwosu, lauded the board and management of NASCON for their ability to declare and pay dividends despite the harsh operating environment which resulted from the Apapa Wharf gridlock and the downturn in national economy. He said that while other companies are lamenting and cutting down on production, the company is paying dividend which is commendable.
NASCON was established as a salt refinery at Ijoko, Ogun State in 1973, in a joint venture between the Federal Military Government of Nigeria and Atlantic Salt & Chemical Inc. of Los Angeles, California, USA. The Company was privatised in 1991 with its shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in October 1992, through which Dangote Industries Limited purchased majority shares. Following the reverse takeover of NASCON by Dangote Salt Limited (DSL) in 2007, NASCON acquired the assets, liabilities and business undertakings of DSL.
Principal activities of the company include processing of raw salt into refined, edible and industrial salt. NASCON is also into the production of seasoning and vegetable oil.
