Nestlé Nigeria Plc has posted a revenue of N 266.3 billion recording a growth of 9.1 per cent over the previous year. Gross profit for the year stood at N 113.9 billion, compared to N 100.9 billion during the previous year. The Company posted N 60.6 billion as Results from Operating Activities in 2018 vs N 55.7 billion during the previous year. In addition to N 20 per share interim dividend already paid, the Board proposed a final dividend of N 38.50 per share for 2018 for approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting on 28th May 2019.
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| 2018 | 2017 |
|
| N’000 | N’000 |
| Revenue | 266,274,621 | 244,151,411 |
| Cost of Sales | -152,354,445 | -143,280,260 |
| Gross Profit | 113,920,176 | 100,871,151 |
| Marketing and Distribution expenses | -43,489,890 | -35,157,152 |
| Administrative expenses | -9,789,555 | -10,015,626 |
| Results from operating activities | 60,640,731 | 55,698,373 |
| Finance income | 1,716,889 | 6,239,371 |
| Finance costs | -2,606,774 | -15,109,062 |
| Net finance costs | -889,885 | -8,869,691 |
| Profit before income tax | 59,750,846 | 46,828,682 |
| Income tax expense | -16,742,820 | -13,104,952 |
| Profit for the period | 43,008,026 | 33,723,730 |
Commenting on the results, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, Managing Director/CEO said, “We are pleased with our 2018 results considering the increasingly competitive business environment. The growth was driven by the continued loyalty of our consumers as we focused on consistently delivering high quality, tasty and nutritious food products adapted to their preferences. The discipline and dedication of our people also supported this business outcome.”
The company continued to invest in innovation to keep delighting consumers with its iconic brands. The multi-cereal Nestlé Golden Morn Puffs fortified with iron was introduced during the year.
In line with its purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, Nestlé Nigeria worked alongside stakeholders to execute projects aimed at improving livelihoods in communities connected to its operations while delivering value to its shareholders. This is a principle called Creating Shared Value, (CSV). The CSV projects include provision of access to clean drinking water, providing nutrition education, farmer capacity building and grain quality improvement through Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestlé Maize Quality Improvement Partnership.
We look forward to next year with cautious optimism in view of the challenging business environment. We will focus on leveraging our capabilities to deliver value to our consumers and our shareholders as we contribute to the growth of the local economy and to improving livelihoods within our communities. Meanwhile Nestlé has laid out an action plan to increase the number of women in senior executive positions globally. This underscores Nestlé’s commitment to providing equal opportunities for everyone at the company. It has made progress in recent years increasing the number of women in managerial positions. Today, 43% of these roles are held by women. With its Gender Balance Acceleration Plan, Nestlé will now put further emphasis on increasing the proportion of women in the group’s top 200 senior executive positions from around 20% currently to 30% by 2022. This is another step in Nestlé’s journey towards gender parity.
Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO, said: “It is simply the right thing to do. We believe that a more diverse workforce with more women at the top will reinforce our inclusive culture and make Nestlé an even better company. We are setting measurable goals to hold ourselves accountable. We know that improving gender balance will lead to better decisions, stronger innovation and higher employee satisfaction.” Nestlé has embedded gender balance in all its Human Resources practices. The company was recently included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). Nestlé is now building on this momentum and setting new goals to drive further action.
The Gender Balance Acceleration Plan includes the following specific actions: supporting all managers to foster an inclusive workplace and ensuring that they are trained on unconscious bias;
encouraging the use of Nestlé’s paid parental leave program and flexible work policies in place in all Nestlé operating companies; enhancing mentoring and sponsorship programs to prepare high-potential women for senior executive positions; hiring and promoting more women in senior executive positions; reviewing results with senior leaders to promote gender balance and ensure progress; continuing our efforts to champion equal pay and eliminate conditions that create gender pay gaps; reporting progress in Nestlé’s annual Creating Shared Value report. “The Nestlé Gender Balance Acceleration Plan strengthens our existing commitment to enhance gender balance in our workforce. We are confident that everyone, men and women, will play a key role in advancing gender equality and creating a better place to work,” said Béatrice Guillaume-Grabisch, Executive Vice President, Head of Group Human Resources and Business Services. Gender balance is a key component of Nestlé’s approach to diversity and inclusion. This is an integral part of the company’s culture and is one of the ways Nestlé brings its purpose and values to life.
