By Abibat Aliu
The Chairman, Board of University Press Plc, Obafunso Ogunkeye has said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s policy on interest rate has no effect on our business because we do not operate on loans..
Ogunkeye, who spoke at the weekend during the 44th yearly general meeting of the company for the Year 2021/2022, held in Ibadan, said the fiscal policy of increasing interest rate is to curb inflation and that goes on to affect even borrowing from banks, where the firm declared a dividend of 10k per share for the financial year 2021/2022 that ended on March 31, 2022.
“We limited the amount we paid out as dividends to conserve funds that can be deployed into servicing our customers without depending on banks,” the chairman said.
He explained to the stakeholders how the company managed the challenging times brought by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that in spite of the pandemic, the company’s board and management team were able to conserve the resources for its sustainability.
“So, the outcome we have seen today at the AGM, amounts to the dedication of staff, the management and the active direction of the board, in ensuring that the business should be sustained and it was indeed sustained.
“We are quite happy with the results and the shareholders are quite delighted, because expectations were low since we were just came back from the lockdown,” Ogunkeye said.
He expressed optimism for the new financial year in spite of being an election year.
Also, Managing Director, University Press Plc, Samuel Kolawole, said the company operated in the past year under very challenging circumstances.
According to him, this was due to the effect of foreign exchange and its uncertainty has had adverse effects on some businesses in Nigeria.
He said that for publishing, most of the raw materials were imported.
“The papers, inks and most of the inputs, while the prices of these went up, the value of naira went down drastically and this affected our operations.
“Our cost rose and it became more challenging and the chain of distribution was disrupted in getting raw materials to be able to print our books.
“The inflation in the country is also telling on us, because it has also led to an increase in the cost of input that we used.
“It has also affected the purchasing power of our customers.
“And so, we have had to struggle with all the difficulties, but we are happy that despite that we are able to do well,” Kolawole said.
Responding on behalf of the shareholders, the Chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders’ Association, Eric Akinduro, commended the board and management of the company for making it viable and thriving in spite of the challenging times.
Akinduro said: “For a successful company, we need to look at the people who are at the helms of that company.
“We appreciate them for being proactive to the business and that is why we are able to have regular dividends every year.
“Though, it is not a big dividend, when it is regular and comes frequently and consistently, we are quite sure that we will get something.
“We thank God that the company is still existing despite the fact that we have a very tough and turbulent period.”
He, however, decried the high rate of dividends, saying the regulators should ensure that they give shareholders their dividends, instead of keeping it.
