With the incorporation of ARCO Group Plc Arco Petrochemical Engineering Company will now formally cease to exist. The newly incorporated Arco Maintenance and Engineering Ltd (AMEL) will take over the maintenance and engineering functions. By this development, AMEL becomes a subsidiary of Arco Group Plc.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arco Group Plc, Chief Joseph Akpieyi reeled out these and other far reaching structural changes in the Group during the 32nd Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos.
Chief Akpieyi informed the shareholders that the process of obtaining ISO/TS 29001:2011 Standard Certification for Quality Management System for all the operating companies in Arco Group had commenced. He said that the step being taken in this direction was to leverage on the success of one of Arco’s subsidiaries, Arco Pipeline Solutions Ltd that successfully obtained the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Certification with Bureau Veritas in 2013. He believes that ISO certification will improve Arco’s competitive edge in delivering high quality products and services to its customers within Nigeria and overseas especially in the West and Central Africa regions.
The changes in the structure and operation of Arco have been the outcome of a well thought out Strategic Enterprise Transformation Project, christened “Project ASET”. Arco had in 2013 engaged the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to carry out organizational transformation services for the group and facilitate the development of a 5-year Strategic Plan that would not only chart the course of the organization towards sustainability, but would also enable Arco to hold a position of dominance in the prized category of indigenous companies operating in the Oil and Gas sector.
Chief Akpieyi further informed the shareholders that in spite of the challenging operating environment and other internal activities, the gross revenue increased by N569million or 10.83% from N5.253billion for the year ended 31st March, 2013 to N5.822 billion for the year ended 31st March, 2014.
Profit Before Tax (PBT) increased by N241.79million or 13.75% from N1.752billion for the year ended 31st March, 2013 to N1.995billion for the year ended 31st March, 2014. Similarly, Profit After Tax (PAT) increased from N1.44 billion for the year ended 31st March, 2013 to N1.523 billion for the year ended 31st March, 2014.
According to Arco Group Chairman, “This performance reinforces our previous statements that Arco Group, with its diversified income base, is well poised to become the leading indigenous oil and gas service group in Nigeria.”
Chief Akpieyi said that based on the excellent performance during the year, the Board recommended and the AGM approved a dividend of 25kobo for every share outstanding in the company register of members as at 31st March, 2014, an increase of 25% over the dividend paid to shareholders for the year ended 31st March, 2013. Total dividend approved was N637,594,000 with the balance on profit being reserved for reinvestment to support future growth of the company.
